
Class 


LB<4«f -2. 


Book _ 


1 


Copi^ht]*!^ 




COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



%^ 



r\ 



WORLD STORIES RETOLD 




GLAD COMRADESHIP WITH THE GLADNESS OF A CHILD 



WORLD STORIES 
RETOLD 

FOR 

MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS 



ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-SEVEN FIVE-MINUTE CLASSIC STORIES FOR 
RETELLING IN HOME. SUNDAY-SCHOOL. CHILDREN'S SERVICES. PUBLIC 
SCHOOL GRADES. AND "THE STORY-HOUR" IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES 



ruij practical Suggestions for ©clltttg 



BY 

WILLIAM JAMES SLY, PH. D. 

Director of Sunday-School and Young People's Work, and Teacher 
of Sunday-School Pedagogy in Colorado Woman's College 



PHILADELPHIA 

THE GRIFFITH & ROWLAND PRESS 

BOSTON ST. LOUIS 

CHICAGO TORONTO, CAN. 






Copyright 1914 by 
A. J. ROWLAND, Secretary 



Published December, 1914 



^//t? 



DEC 30 1914 

©C1,AI588993 



TO 

leilswortb 



AND 

THE HOSTS OF BOYS AND GIRLS SCATTERED 

EVERYWHERE TO WHOM I HAVE TOI.D 

MANY OF THESE STORIES AND FROM 

WHOM I HAVE RECEIVED WARM 

APPRECIATION AND LOVE 



PREFACE 

This book is intended chiefly for the home. It is an 
aid to parents in introducing their children to some of the 
best stories in the world. It will be of obvious value also 
to Sunday-school teachers, ministers who preach to chil- 
dren, public-school teachers, kindergartners, librarians, 
and to all who perceive that the story method is the 
golden method of teaching. 

" Where can I find suitable stories to tell ? " is a fre- 
quent question asked by lovers of children who take 
seriously their cry of soul-hunger, " Tell me a story ! " 
Oral story-telling within recent years has had a remark- 
able revival, and a response to both the child's and the 
parent's plea has been made in a number of charming col- 
lections of children's stories and manuals on the art of 
story-telling. But it is well known that books of stories 
with material in a form readily adapted for telling are 
very few. Fewer still have attempted to gather into one 
volume those old favorites which should be the heritage 
of each succeeding generation of children. True, there 
are collections in many volumes, such as " The Chil- 
dren's Hour," in ten volumes ; the " Junior Classics," in 
ten volumes ; and the series, " What Every Child Should 
Know," in twenty volumes ; but these, admirable in many 
respects, are bulky, expensive, and forbidden to all except 
the favored children of the rich. Mothers frequently 



PREFACE 

ask for something condensed, comprehensive, and simple. 
It is to meet such a need, often expressed to him, that 
the author has gathered, during a number of years of 
experience in moral and religious education, these World 
Stories for telling to modern boys and girls. 

Almost all of the many stories in this book he has 
himself told at various times before differing audi- 
ences of children, young people, and adults^ — audiences 
varying from one or two open-eyed listeners in the home, 
or the little group in the country Sunday-school or way- 
side schoolhouse, to the large classes and assemblies in 
high schools, colleges, city libraries, Sunday-schools, 
churches, and conventions. In many cases children and 
young people have retold these stories in almost the exact 
language here given. 

The principle on which these stories have been adapted 
and rewritten is largely that of condensation. There is 
undoubtedly a certain cultural atmosphere created in the 
very language and spirit of these fine old tales, but the 
descriptive adornments often lead to a length that is 
unattractive to the busy mother or teacher, as well as 
trying to the strength of mind and memory of the child. 
Given the real facts, illustrating the moral principle de- 
sired to be imparted, the story-teller may elaborate as 
much as imagination, interest, and time permit. After 
such an early introduction in childhood to these stories 
that for unnumbered generations have furnished food 
to mind, memory, heart, and will, the boy and girl will 
experience a keener joy in after years when the fuller 
versions are read in the original or in larger books. 



PREFACE 

In the preparation of these pages, the author has been 
favored with the generous counsel, aid, and encourage- 
ment of specialists in child psychology, pedagogy, and 
story-telling, among whom mention must be made espe- 
cially of Dr. Richard Morse Hodge, of Columbia Uni- 
versity, one of whose articles printed in " Religious Edu- 
cation " suggested this work ; Dr. Henry F. Cope, Secre- 
tary of the Religious Education Association; John L. 
Alexander, Secondary Division Superintendent of the In- 
ternational Sunday School Association; and my friend, 
Dr. Irving E. Miller, of Rochester University, and author 
of " The Psychology of Thinking." To these, as well as 
to a host of teachers and principals of public schools, 
pastors and superintendents in churches, and mothers and 
fathers in homes, who so graciously permitted experi- 
mentation with these stories, gratitude is sincerely ex- 
pressed. 

William J. Sly. 

University Park, Denver, Colo. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PART I. THE ART OF STORY-TELLING 

Page 

L Value of Stories 3 

n. The Periods of Interest in Stories i6 

III. Types of Stories to Tell 23 

IV. Practical Suggestions FOR Story-telling. . 36 
V. Games with Stories 41 

VI. Use OF the Ethical Index 44 

PART II. STORIES TO TELL 

I. Fairy and Wonder Tales 47 

II. Fables 66 

III. Folk-tales ^I 

IV. Favorites 9° 

V. Christmas Stories 108 

VI. Bible Stories from the Old Testament . . 115 
VII. Bible Stories from the New Testament . 150 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Pagb 

VIII. General Historical Stories 182 

IX. American Historical Stories 200 

X. Heroes of Peace 233 

XI. Modern Boys and Girls Who Became Use- 
ful 246 

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF STORIES . . 289 
ETHICAL INDEX OF STORIES 291 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

Glad comradeship with the gladness of 

a child Frontispiece v^ 

" Good morning, little girl, where are you going?" . S4 '' 

" Those who play and dance all summer must expect 

to dance hungry to bed in winter " Ji ^ 

Offero . . . began to cross the flood log > 

" Entreat me not to leave thee " 15-? '^ 

When Jesus zvas a boy 755 "^ 

Stone marking the line of the Minute Men at Lex- 
ington 215 

Grace, pulling at one oar, and her father at the other. 2^y / 

Helen Keller 28^ 



Parti 

The Art of Story-Telling 



VALUE OF STORIES 

STORIES are the language of childhood. They are 
mirrors of nature in which the child beholds his 
natural face " as in a glass." They appeal to every in- 
stinct of child nature. They feed every interest of the 
soul. They strike a responsive chord in every awakening 
faculty of the unfolding life. Boys and girls love stories 
as they love no other form of address. Stories afford 
amusement and entertainment as play does, for they are 
the mind's play, as well as its natural soul-food. 

Story-telling is as old as human speech. It was en- 
joyed by the primitive children of all races and lands, as 
it is enjoyed by the boys and girls of to-day. There is 
no better way to convey our ideas, to widen knowledge, 
experience, and sympathy, or to impress moral truth. 
Stories with plenty of life and action in them leave noth- 
ing to explain. Conduct pictured in them needs no appli- 
cation or obtrusive moral. Good stories, well adapted and 
well told, not only furnish amusement and hold attention 
as no other form of speech does, but possess positive 
value in many other directions. They feed, exercise, and 
cultivate the imagination ; appeal to the emotions ; arouse 
the will ; strengthen the power of concentration ; develop 
the sense of beauty; stimulate the idealizing instinct; 
help to shape thought and language; widen the child's 
sympathies and fellowships ; broaden his world interests ; 
prepare for future understanding of literary classics, 
especially poetry; implant ideas of right and wrong; and, 

3 



4 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

in short, make the most lasting impressions of an ethical, 
esthetic, educational, and cultural nature. 

The story method is the golden method of instruction. 
No method of teaching is so popular or powerful. The 
story-teller was the first teacher of primitive children in 
Egypt, Assyria, India, China, and Japan, The stories of 
the wandering bards, like Homer, in ancient Greece, were 
the first education of the Greeks. Stories of national 
heroes, such as we find in Plutarch's Lives, delighted the 
Roman boy just as the stories of Joseph and Samuel and 
David and Daniel charmed and thrilled to patriotism the 
Jewish boy. During the Middle Ages the monks, trou- 
badours, skalds, jongleurs, wandering bards, and min- 
strels never lacked an audience when they told or sang 
their tales of mystery, heroism, or love. Story-telling 
has been a valuable instrument for philosophers, poets, 
prophets, statesmen, and great leaders of men in all 
ages. It was the method of Jesus, the greatest of all 
teachers. " Without a parable spake he not unto them." 
Plato regarded stories for children as so important that he 
would have none told that had not been approved by the 
public censor. Froebel, the father of the kindergarten, 
said : " Story-telling refreshes the mind as a bath re- 
freshes the body; it gives exercise to the intellect and 
its powers, and tests the judgment and the feelings." 
Charles Lamb, Sir Walter Scott, Robert Burns, Cole- 
ridge, Longfellow, Dickens, Emerson, Lowell, Milton, 
Hawthorne, Stanley, Hugh Miller, Ruskin, and Wagner 
tell of the influence of stories, and especially fairy stories, 
upon them before the age of sixteen, and many before 
they were twelve. When Henry Ward Beecher arose in 
Manchester, England, to make an address, during the 
Civil War, pleading the cause of the Union before a 
bitterly hostile assembly, he looked out upon a howling 
mob. He smiled, he waved his hand, he waited in vain. 



VALUE OF STORIES 5 

At last he shouted, " Let me tell you a story ! " and at 
once the tumult ceased. He told them a short, pithy 
story in half a dozen sentences, won their attention, and 
proceeded with his great plea for human rights. It has 
been said that Beecher, by this speech, stemmed the tide 
of popular feeling against the Union and so prevented 
recognition of the Confederacy by the British Govern- 
ment. 

All the world loves a good story. But give the story 
a place in the heart and mind of childhood early enough, 
and you have laid the foundation-stone for an enduring 
character. And beyond all this, as Dr. G. Stanley Hall 
says, " To hear stories from the great story-books of the 
world is one of the inalienable rights of childhood." 



STORIES IN THE HOME 

Elementary teachers, junior librarians, and competent 
Sunday-school teachers are now fully expected to meet 
the story-hunger of childhood by good stories. But 
educated mothers also are coming to realize that these 
workers for their children cannot be expected to do all 
the story-telling. Parents, and especially mothers, should 
talk with their children about the stories they have heard, 
and supplement these with the cultural classics, such 
world stories as are found in this collection, or with those 
from other sources. 

" The mother's heart is the child's best schoolroom." 
The home is the first and holiest school. The home is 
the institution which is more important and fundamental 
than all others. Teachers, ministers, and other educators 
can cooperate with, but can never be substitutes for, 
educated, cultured parents, who, by the great law of 
family life, necessarily exert the most direct influence 
upon the life of the child, and especially during its form- 



O WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

ative and most impressionable years. An educator of 
wide reputation says : " If, at the end of the sixth year, 
the child has not acquired self-control and a fair ability 
to be an agreeable member of society, it is the fault of 
the home. A failure to arrive at such a happy state of 
affairs may be due to economic or social conditions back 
of the home, but normally this responsibility for the care 
and training of children lies with the parents." 

Because so few mothers feel competent to cooperate 
in this creative art of story-telling, such a course should 
manifestly become an integral part of the education of 
every young woman of culture. This is, in part, being 
provided, and soon must universally find a place in the 
curricula of high schools, normal colleges, State uni- 
versities, and denominational institutions of learning. 
Many who are now mothers have had no such training. 
All the greater reason, therefore, that the mother who 
would be competent should avail herself of such books 
as " Stories and Story-Telling," by E. P. St. John ; " How 
to Tell Stories to Children," by Sara Cone Bryant; 
" Stories and Story-Telling," by Angela M. Keyes ; 
" The Children's Reading," by Frances J. Olcott ; " Some 
Great Stories and How to Tell Them," by Richard T. 
Wyche ; or " The Moral Instruction of Children," by 
Felix Adler. Any one of these books, or the present 
volume alone, will assist any mother to improve her op- 
portunity of telling stories to her own children or to 
develop her own natural gift into a conscious art, so that 
ability may fit opportunity more perfectly. 

It is well for the mother to have a definite plan for 
children's story-telling. Some mothers I know have set 
aside half an hour in the morning after breakfast, when 
the husband has gone to the office and her older children 
have gone to school, as the best time for what they call 
" the morning stories of the Bible " (early chapters 



VALUE OF STORIES 7 

of Genesis) for those who are in the early morn of life. 
Less fortunate mothers have set aside Sunday afternoons. 
Others set aside a half-hour after supper on two or three 
evenings each week, or even one evening, if that is all that 
can be spared. Still others devote, faithfully, one-half 
hour to their children's story-telling before the children 
go to bed, or even after they are in bed, and the children 
love that half-hour as " the best of all the day." 

THE FATHER AS STORY-TELLER 

The instinct of story-telling is, undoubtedly, more 
natural with the mother, the children more necessarily 
turning to her with their cry for soul-food, " Tell me a 
story ! " But many a father would greatly enrich his own 
life and his boy's childhood memory by less absorption 
in the evening paper, the monthly magazine, or the club 
in order to attend to this soul-hunger of his boy's mind. 
Longfellow, the great lover of children, had the father 
as the story-teller in mind, when he pictured " The 
Children's Hour " : 

Between the dark and the daylight, 
When the night is beginning to lower, 

Conies a pause in the day's occupation, 
That is known as the Children's Hour. 



Do you think, O blue-eyed banditti, 
Because you have scaled the wall. 

Such an old mustache as I am 
Is not a match for you all! 

I hold you fast in my fortress, 
And will not let you depart, 

But put you down into the dungeon 
In the round-tower of my heart. 



8 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

And there will I keep you forever, 

Yes, forever and a day, 
Till the walls shall crumble to ruin. 

And moulder in dust away! 

Not all fathers are so occupied with business cares that 
they may not, if they would, attract their children and 
strengthen and ennoble their life by stories. Not a few 
fathers I have known have left this priceless heritage 
and memory to grateful children. 

When should parents begin to tell stories to their chil- 
dren? As early as possible. When should they cease? 
At no point. Walter T. Field, in " Finger Posts for 
Children's Reading," tells of a father who read a course 
in history with his sons when they were grown into young 
manhood. Not the least reason for the father, as well as 
the mother, being the story-teller to their own children, 
is the comradeship of it. A well-loved writer once said 
that in his long experience he had never seen any family 
of boys go wrong where their father was their " chum," 
if the father was himself the man he ought to be. The 
father's comradeship with his boy or girl begins very early 
in the child-life, and the earlier it begins, the deeper 
and stronger will the roots go down into the soul. Story- 
telling during the golden years of childhood in the home, 
or as the father walks abroad into the country with his 
boy, will weld bonds of friendship between father and 
son that no after years can sunder. 

Many homes cannot afford a large library of many 
books, but no home is so poor that parents in joyous 
partnership may not gather the children together on a 
winter's evening or summer's day, and tell them some of 
the great stories of the world. To do so is to reenter in 
joyous comradeship into the child's enjoyment, which is 
the highest prerogative of a parent. It is in this sense 
" to become again as a little child." And besides all, it 



VALUE OF STORIES 9 

is to be rewarded by discovering, as nearly as can be on 
this side of heaven, the fount of perennial youth. 

STORIES IN THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

Only recently has the value of teaching by stories 
been taken seriously in the Sunday-school. It is likely 
Robert Raikes, the founder of the modern Sunday-school 
movement, never thought of telling stories to " the ter- 
rible bad boys," the waifs from the alleys of Gloucester, 
whom in 1780 he gathered into his first Sunday-school in 
that city. Nor did the four teachers whom he hired at 
one shilling each week seem to dream of the children's 
thirst for stories. They were perfectly content to teach 
these " young savages " to repeat simple prayers, the 
Church of England catechism, Bible questions and an- 
swers, and to sing Doctor Watts' hymns ; and occasion- 
ally Robert Raikes gave them a crack on the head with 
his walking-stick in order to impress some knotty point 
of instruction. But the recent study of child-nature, and 
the influence of modern psychology and pedagogy on the 
church, have clearly marked out a better way. In the 
religious training of children, no less than in their gen- 
eral education, story-telling is seen to be the easiest, 
simplest, and most effective means of impressing upon a 
new generation the lessons that have been learned by 
those who have gone before. 

Dr. H. E. Tralle, in " Teacher-Training Essentials," 
says : " All in all, the story method is probably the most 
valuable of all methods of teaching in the Sunday- 
school." 

" Of all the things that a teacher should know how 
to do," says President G. Stanley Hall, " the most im- 
portant, without exception, is to be able to tell a good 
story." 



10 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

Every Sunday-school teacher who would be successful 
in teaching modern boys and girls must give attention 
to this golden method of instruction, and should, as early 
as possible, learn this " the easiest of all the creative 
arts," the delightful art of story-telling. 

But oral story-telling has value in the Sunday-school 
outside the class instruction. The story form is the best 
expression of children's worship, and should be employed 
in what is called " the opening and closing exercises." A 
short story is soon told, but its influence abides long 
after "the address" is forgotten. Let the story-tellers 
and their stories be selected with care, and many a dull 
opening or closing exercise will be enlivened and en- 
riched. Bible stories, Christmas and Thanksgiving 
stories, missionary stories, altruistic stories, stories of 
hymns, stories of noble acts of children recorded in our 
daily papers, all are serviceable. Many of the stories in 
this volume have been told again and again in the opening 
and closing exercises of Sunday-schools with good results. 

Dr. Richard Morse Hodge well says: " If you do not 
tell stories at the services of a Sunday-school, please 
reflect that some one else may be telling stories to the 
same children at some other time and place ; may be 
doing more to promote their worship of God than what 
you may be doing for them by a less intelligent method 
of conducting the Sunday-school services." 

STORIES IN CHURCH SERVICES FOR CHILDREN ^ 

" Stories are better than sermonettes. A five-minute 
story, well told, from the pulpit often outweighs an 
hour's discourse. Children under twelve rarely learn 
through abstract terms. Such explanations bore them, 
since they are first incomprehensible, and after a story 

1 Dr. Richard Morse Hodge, in " Journal of Religious Education." 



VALUE OF STORIES II 

are superfluous. Stories are better than object-lessons, 
since stories appeal both to the intellect and the emotions. 
Suppose a minister holds in his hands a watch and 
observes that if it goes wrong it has to be remedied 
from the inside, so also if a child goes wrong he has to 
be altered in the heart. This is clear so far as it goes, but 
it does not instruct a child how to adjust his heart any 
more than it teaches him how to be a watch-repairer. But 
suppose the minister tells a story of how ' once upon a 
time' a boy failed to be obedient until he fell in love 
with his mother. He then deals with the problem 
practically, directly, and naturally. The boy is full of 
interest, and the minister is religiously educating and 
inspiring. Story illustration is essentially the art of 
explaining the unknown by the familiar, an untried 
experience by an experience already gained, as Jesus used 
agricultural parables for peasants and fishing experiences 
to unenlightened fishermen." 

A number of ministers I know are telling five-minute 
stories from their pulpits each Sunday morning to the 
delight of both young and old ; at the same time enriching 
their service of worship and solving, as far as it can be 
solved under present conditions, the vexed problem of 
how to get children to remain to the preaching service of 
the church. Others are successful in weaving into their 
shortened discourses choice stories which hold attention 
and illume and enforce the truth presented. 

STORIES IN THE KINDERGARTEN 

Froebel is the father of the kindergarten and the 
great modern inspirer of short story-telling for the young. 
His method was to create an atmosphere in which the 
child-nature could best bud and blossom in its unfolding 
life. For this reason he believed to have the children sit 



12 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

in a circle is far more conducive to good results in story- 
telling than the plan of the school with its bench and 
book. As disciples of Froebel kindergarteners have been 
pioneers in story-telling, leaders and inspirers of others 
and, until recently, as a class did more story-telling than 
any other educators. The kindergarten age is from three 
to six years normally, but with immature children may 
continue a year or two longer. In this period the child 
is in a transition from nursery rhymes and Mother Goose 
jingles to fairy tales, folk-lore, and nature stories. If 
the mother is the teacher in the kindergarten of her own 
home, as must be the case most generally, let her be sure 
to give her children, in addition to Mother Goose jingles, 
the Fairy and Folk Tales in Chapters I and III, such as 
" The Runaway Pancake," " Red Ridinghood," and many 
of the Fables in Chapter II. In the kindergarten proper 
let the teacher add to these world stories for this period 
such others as these may suggest. And if she has a 
creative imagination let her invent new stories from 
familiar objects, and let the children have an opportunity 
to vote which stories they like best — the " made-up " 
ones or these old classics. 



STORIES IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

No longer are school-teachers content to have kinder- 
garteners hold a monopoly of story-telling. Richard T. 
Wyche, in his excellent work, " Some Great Stories and 
How to Tell Them," says : " In the grades the child is oc- 
cupied largely with reading and writing, the mastering 
of form, the book, and the desk — things that for the mo- 
ment deaden rather than inspire, but are means to things 
of primary interest to him. So much time is necessarily 
put on form and learning to read the story that the pleas- 
ure and inspiration of the story itself is given a secondary 



VALUE OF STORIES I3 

place." While this is recognized, the oral story, well 
told, is finding an ever-widening acceptance in the grades 
as the most popular and successful method in education. 
Good story-telling is being utilized in many subjects of 
the curriculum, for many purposes and in many depart- 
ments, within and without the classes, because its artistic 
and educational possibilities are so great. 

Richard T. Wyche gives his experience as a teacher in 
a little school in the South. The teacher who preceded 
him " heard lessons " — and the children " said lessons " — 
an easy way, he says, " for the questions were in the 
book, and the children could memorize and say the 
answers without interest or profit. They were bored by 
this mechanical process as was the teacher." One day he 
told the class the story of " Hiawatha's Fishing," and 
every child listened with rapt attention, full of interest. 
Many of the children wrote out the story for their les- 
sons the next day. One little fellow who did not write it 
told it in such a vivid and realistic way that the class 
applauded. Two stories a week followed until the whole 
story of Hiawatha was told. All the children were inter- 
ested, and within two months, grammar, language, com- 
position, spelling, drawing, had all been taught by the 
story-telling method. 

The story is now seen to be so important a method in 
education that we may expect to see this art become a 
part of the equipment of all teachers, and the story 
literature of the world become more and more accessible 
and adaptable to the unfolding life of childhood and 
youth in our public schools, 

STORIES AND THE PUBLIC LIBRARY 

It is a poor public library to-day where there is no 
provision for a story-teller and a " story-hour," as a 



14 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

means of introducing- boys and girls to the best books. 
Books on the shelves are of no value. They are for 
reading, but they are not likely to be read unless they 
are known. A story, well told, from a book, will often 
prove the most successful way of leading the children to 
desire to read the book. A friend of mine, a teacher in 
the high school in a small town in Colorado, has in- 
fluenced the whole community for good by introducing a 
" children's story-hour " one afternoon a week into a 
library which, before her effort, was scarcely patronized 
at all, and which now is the center of interest and " the 
liveliest place in town." 

Of course the primary use of the story-hour in the 
library is different from that in other places. In the 
public school the purpose of the story is to teach lan- 
guage, literature, geography, history, and such subjects; 
in the Sunday-school, church services, and the home, the 
spiritual and ethical aim of the story is necessarily prom- 
inent. In the public library, the story is told for the 
purpose of bringing the best books to the attention of 
the public that they may thereby be benefited. 

As each of these agencies in the educative process of 
the child life differs in its task, so it follows that there 
must be in each institution a different use of the story. 
But as elsewhere, so in the library there are many " by- 
products " of oral story-telling. Miss Frances J. Olcott, of 
the Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh, Pa., the prime mover 
and leader in this popular work, calls attention to the by- 
products of the story-hour. She says : " Besides guiding 
his reading, a carefully prepared, well-told story enriches 
a child's imagination, stocks his mind with poetic images 
and literary allusions, develops his power of concentra- 
tion, helps the unfolding of his ideas of right and wrong, 
and develops his sympathetic feelings, all of which * by- 
products ' have a powerful influence on character. Thus 



VALUE OF STORIES 1 5 

the library hour becomes, if properly utilized, an educa- 
tional force as well as a literary guide." 



STORIES IN SETTLEMENTS 

Children in settlement districts in our large cities are 
not different from other children in their love of stories. 
The story-teller is the saint of the settlement. Few set- 
tlement workers to-day would venture on their mission 
without the necessary equipment of this art. 

STORIES IN boys' CAMPS 

Stories told to boys around the camp-fire at night 
leave little to be desired in a boy's imagination. They 
charm him as they did the weary hunters in the boyhood 
of the race when the story-tellers beguiled the silence 
of the desert or forest with the mirth and wonders of 
the same tales that delight to-day. One of the finest 
collections of stories for boy camps is " Around the Fire 
Stories of Beginnings," by Hanford M. Burr. 



II 

THE PERIODS OF INTEREST IN STORIES 

IT is a great mistake to suppose that any kind of story 
will do for any age of childhood. Nothing could 
be more erroneous. There are well-marked periods or 
epochs for different kinds of stories, as for any graded 
instruction, and care should be taken to give each kind of 
story " in its season " in the unfolding life. A study of 
the normal characteristics and interests of child life 
underlies the selection of suitable stories. A boy of 
twelve is a very different personality from what he was 
at three and seven, and will be at seventeen and twenty- 
} one. Your boy or girl at twelve will reject, with scorn, 
^' a fairy tale that lights up the wondering eyes of the 
young child. It is necessary, therefore, for the parent 
or the child-lover to know at just what age a particular 
type of story is adaptable, or when the particular ethical 
truth intended to be impressed can best be assimilated. 

There is perhaps less harm done by giving boys and 
girls what is beyond them than is done by talking down 
to them. They will be bored by the too mature. They 
may permanently scorn the babyish or sentimental. 
Moral nuts are not for babes ; nor predigested food for 
young athletes. Studies of children's characteristics and' 
interests at different periods may be found in such excel- 
lent books as the following : " Aspects of Child Life 
and Education," G. Stanley Hall; "A Study of Child- 
Nature," Elizabeth Harrison ; " The Pedagogical Bible 
School," S. B. Haslett; "The Individual in the Making," 
Kirkpatrick; "The Psychology of Thinking," Irving E. 
i6 



THE PERIODS OF INTEREST IN STORIES 1/ 

Miller; "The Unfolding of Personality," H. T. Mark; 
" Childhood," Mrs. Theodore Birney. 

Such books are well worth consulting. They should 
lead to a first-hand study of the different epochs of child 
life by every parent, teacher, and minister who wishes to 
be " a workman who needeth not to be ashamed, rightly 
dividing the word of truth." 

Roughly sketched, the various periods of child life, 
with their story interests, are as follows: 



I. THE PERIOD OF BABYHOOD 

This period is from birth to three years. The story 
interest begins with lullabies, rhymes, and jingles. Every 
thoughtful mother must notice that even before the little 
one can speak it responds to rhymes repeated over and 
over. Half of the baby's pleasure is in the frequent hear- 
ing of a familiar strain. The baby enjoys also, largely 
for rhythm's sake, the shortest and simplest stories with 
refrains and repetitions ; also cumulative stories like the 
"Three Bears," "This Little Pig Went to Market," 
" The House that Jack Built," and many others to be 
found in Mother Goose, ^sop, Grimms, and Jacobs. 
Mothers should begin singing and repeating rhymes, 
rhythms, and nursery ditties from the child's very earliest 
days. The child's delight in rhyme and rhythm will be 
satisfied, the ear will be trained to listen, the power of 
concentration will be cultivated, and, best of all, a prepa- 
ration for a love of poetry, a most valuable asset in edu- 
cation and in life, will be begun. A keen interest and 
enjoyment in rhythm is found in almost every normal 
infant. It is the rudiment or germ of a sense of balance 
and harmony, and as such should be carefully nurtured. 
The Greeks laid great stress on this sense of harmony 
through music and poetry. 

B 



l8 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

2. THE PERIOD OF EARLY CHILDHOOD 

This period is from three to six years. It begins in 
an interest in live things, in domestic animals, and later 
in flowers, wind, rain, stars, and other expressions of 
nature. The child now finds delight in picture-books, 
short stories of animals, birds, and flowers. When a 
little older he enjoys fables, short fairy stories, and folk 
and wonder-tales, short moral stories and imaginative 
stories of home, play, and humor. Historic tales of the 
nation and Bible stories, well adapted and simplified in 
language, will prove of the greatest interest to children 
of this early period. No hard and fast lines can be drawn 
in ages. Allowance must always be made for tempera- 
ment, disposition, heredity, and family environment. I 
have found little children, under three years of age, re- 
producing to me, without having previously seen me, or 
hearing them from me, several of the fairy stories and 
fables in this volume; and I have found boys and girls 
nine and ten years old still enjoying them. But with the 
average child such short fairy and folk-tales are keenly 
enjoyed between the ages of three and six years. 

3. THE PERIOD OF LATER CHILDHOOD 

This period is from six to nine years. It diflfers from 
the preceding period only in the fact that its normal 
interests are wider, its vocabulary larger, and its whole 
outlook enlarged by reason of attendance upon the pub- 
lic school. Fairies and Santa Claus are naturally the 
favorite characters of children from three to six, but as 
they pass out of early childhood they discern that " the 
cow did not jump over the moon," and that Santa Claus 
is, as one of my little friends expressed it, " only the 
spirit of love." The child then wants true stories. He 



THE PERIODS OF INTEREST IN STORIES I9 

is apt to inquire earnestly, " Is it true ? " or his request 
may bluntly be, " Tell me a true story." This is the 
period for repeating in larger and more descriptive 
form the grand old Bible stories that children of this 
age love so much. It is the time for the realistic and 
historic tales of the nation that kindle imagination and 
patriotism. It is the time for the lives of the pioneers, 
explorers, or missionaries like Columbus, Capt. John 
Smith, Washington, Lincoln, and Livingstone. This is 
the golden period of such stories from the Bible (espe- 
cially the Old Testament), from general history and from 
national history, as are given in this volume. 

4. THE PERIOD OF BOYHOOD AND GIRLHOOD 

This stage, from nine to twelve, is possibly the most im- 
pressionable period of life. It is not a time of marked in- 
ternal changes, but one in which the external, social, and 
regulative influences are very prominent. Life is unique. 
The boy and girl are unlike the children that were, or the 
youth and maiden that will be. The transition from 
childhood to boyhood and girlhood comes very imper- 
ceptibly. But the average child enters it when he begins 
to read easily and naturally; and this ability may well 
mark the change. When a boy or girl has this new 
power to understand and enjoy books, life acquires a new 
range. The whole wide world of literature lies open. 
Life begins to be full of meaning. These plastic years 
are the habit-forming period. As the twig is bent the 
tree will be inclined. A pebble may turn the stream of 
life. It is the great memory period. It is the golden 
age to mold character after the Pattern in the Gospels, if 
the work is done naturally. Give the boy and girl realistic 
stories — those from the Old Testament, and the Gospels, 
and Acts; those from the history of all nations, and 



20 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

from our own national life. Give the choicest idealistic 
stories — those legends, strong fables, romances, tales of 
chivalry, and poetic interpretations of ethical truth, 
such as " Favorites," in Chapter IV of this volume ; 
Ruskin's " King of the Golden River " ; Hawthorne's 
" Great Stone Face " ; and " The Story of Midas," which 
so strongly appeal to this age. In this pre-adolescent, 
this habit-forming and golden-memory period, imagina- 
tion, curiosity, action, impressionableness, trust, loyalty, 
and many other instincts of child-nature are all present 
ready to combine with every efficient element of environ- 
ment, education, example, and experience to build up 
the foundation-stones of a wholesome character and use- 
ful life. Feed the minds of these growing boys and 
girls on the great Bible stories, the great classic, realistic, 
and idealistic stories of the world, such as are found in 
this volume, or suggested by them, and your young men 
and women will not care for trashy stories as they cross 
the bridge of the teens. 

5. THE PERIOD OF EARLY YOUTH 

This period is from twelve or thirteen to seventeen or 
eighteen. This adolescent period is the time of marked 
changes no less in mind than in body. Like the former 
period, it is critical and determinative. Self-conscious- 
ness, memory, honor, heroism, idealism, moodiness, 
partisanship, are among the prominent characteristics. 
Fairy tales do not interest. Stories of romance, heroism, 
and adventure make the strongest appeal. Stories of 
egoism, triumph over difficulties, self-mastery, loyalty to 
friends, are most keenly enjoyed. Stories of altruism 
come later, in the next period. If they have not been 
given in the previous period, the great romances of the 
world should come early in this stage — Homer's " Iliad " 



THE PERIODS OF INTEREST IN STORIES 21 

and *' Odyssey " ; Virgil's "^neid " ; the stories of King 
Arthur and the Round Table ; the stories of " Beowulf " 
and " Siegfried " ; the legends of the red Indian " Hia- 
watha," and the great romances from the story-books 
of the world. The epics, hero tales, romances, and great 
purpose-stories of the Old Testament, as well as the 
scenes of the New Testament, find a ready response in 
every normal youth's heart, and should be given at this 
period. In addition to these, stories from history, ad- 
venture, modern biography, missionary life, well written 
or well told, will interest and impress the character of all 
those older boys and girls who are so fortunate as to 
have the mirror of life held up to them in this way as 
an aid to them in the realization of those highest and 
best instincts and impulses which are so naturally and 
abundantly surging within their breasts during these 
critical early adolescent years. 

6. THE PERIOD OF LATER YOUTH — YOUNG PEOPLE 

This period is from seventeen to twenty-one or twenty- 
five. It is the period of altruism, love, and vocation. 
The period of early adolescence is egoistic ; this period 
is ego-social, and strongly altruistic. This change in 
the unfolding nature of youth opens the interest to 
stories of self-sacrifice, heroic service and love even for 
enemies. These stories could not be appreciated in so 
keen a way before. This altruistic interest normally 
awakens several years earlier in girls than in boys. 
(See Altruistic Stories, page 33.) At the beginning of 
this period, and sometimes a little before, a natural inter- 
est in romantic love leads to the keen enjoyment of such 
stories. Love is so important and normal a factor in hu- 
man life that such interest ought never to be suppressed, 
but it should always be directed by the most tactful and 



22 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

sympathetic guidance in the selection of such love stories 
as are referred to on page 33 of this volume. 

Another normal interest of this period is that of vo- 
cation, choosing one's life-calling. If the young man or 
young woman has not already started to work to support 
himself, the question of his life-work begins to press hard 
for an answer. And the ideals that shall shape the choice 
or spirit of that life-work are already being formed. 
This is the great time of appeal of such vocational stories 
as are indicated on page 34. 



Ill 

TYPES OF STORIES TO TELL 

STORIES for telling may be found everywhere — in a 
thousand children's books, magazines, periodicals, 
poems, novels, histories. They may be recalled from 
those heard in childhood. They may be " made up " 
from the memory of one's own past history or the ad- 
ventures of friends. Or they can readily be woven out 
of a vivid imagination. Such stories may afford children 
passing amusement and a degree of profit, but such 
stories rarely have the permanent, cultural value that 
comes from an acquaintance with the old classics. Emer- 
son said, " We love the classics, not because they are 
ancient, but because they are true to life." Every child 
has a right to his literary and esthetic inheritance, and 
these classics, these great world stories, should be given 
him for their cultural, moral, and religious values be- 
fore his twelfth year. 

An understanding of the normal interests of child- 
nature is the first step in the selection of suitable stories 
to tell. The second step is the actual selection. The 
selection, of course, will depend on these factors — the 
story-teller's purpose, his available material, and his taste. 
The purpose of telling a story may be pure enjoyment, 
or the impression of an ethical principle, or some cultural 
or educational aim. The available material may be sup- 
plied by many books of short stories retold. Such is the 
purpose of the present volume. The taste of the story- 
teller must not be permitted to dominate the real life 
interests and needs of the child's nature. Nor will this 

23 



24 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

be the case if we realize the child's story interests, and 
permit the child to vote on the kinds of stories he likes. 
An understanding of the different types of stories to tell 
will be of value to all who desire to secure the best 
results. Some of the different types of stories may be 
classified as follows: 



I. BIBLE STORIES 

Bible stories are the best of all to tell to children. They 
have a cultural, esthetic, literary, educational, and ethical 
value, quite apart from their spiritual and religious use, 
that puts them in the very front rank as stories that inter- 
est, instruct, and inspire young life. These stories are 
the rich inheritance of the race. They are a treasure- 
house of ethical and spiritual wisdom. Bible stories are 
never sectarian. It is the teller's fault if he so interprets 
them. They are pervaded by a perennial humanity and 
a direct simplicity that make the strongest appeal to the 
young of every century. The Bible reaches into the soul 
and impels the will to action as no other book does. For 
these reasons every child should be made familiar with 
the Bible from babyhood up. Simple parts should be 
read aloud to the child in its early years. The simplicity, 
dignity, and grandeur of the language, the objective 
spirit, and the dramatic action bring many parts of the 
Bible within the comprehension of even a very young 
child. In telling such adapted forms as are reproduced 
in this volume, care should be taken, as early as possible, 
to familiarize the child with the Bible version itself. 
Some of the best collections of Bible stories are: " Chil- 
dren's Treasury of Bible Stories," Mrs. Herman Gaskoin ; 
" Tell Me a True Story," Mary Stewart ; " Stories About 
Jesus," Dr. and Mrs. C. R. Blackall; "Story of the 
Bible," J. L. Hulburt; " StQry of the Bible," C. Foster; 



TYPES OF STORIES TO TELL 2$ 

" Kindergarten Bible Stories," Cragin ; " Old Stories of 
the East," James Baldwin. 

2. MISSIONARY STORIES 

Numerous short and simple stories of heroic lives have 
recently been written in a very attractive way for boys 
and girls. These hero stories are for telling, not reading, 
in home, Sunday-school classes and opening exercises, 
junior mission circles, or young people's missionary 
meetings. A few of the best are : " Fifty Missionary 
Heroes Every Boy and Girl Should Know," by Julia H. 
Johnson ; " Love Stories of Great Missionaries," by Belle 
M. Brain; "The White Man at Work," and "The 
Splendid Quest," by Matthews (suitable for children 
eight to fifteen). 

3. PLAY STORIES 

Some parents and teachers find it hard to see any value 
in play stories like " The Runaway Pancake," " The Lit- 
tle Red Hen," and " The Golden Goose " (pages 47-51) ; 
or such nonsense stories as " The Fox Without a Tail," 
" Why the Bear Has a Stumpy Tail " (pages 71, 77) ; or 
funny stories like " Lazy Jack " and " Epaminondas." 
Such parents do not get the child's point of view. The 
idle pleasure or extravagance provokes their displeasure 
and appears to them driveling nonsense. But why should 
not the mind have an innocent frolic? Why should the 
child be deprived of his birthright of " being a child " 
and " understanding as a child " ? The child loves play 
and loves these play stories because they are play. 

4. FAIRY AND FOLK-TALES 

Sometimes a mother says : " I do not want to tell my 
child lies. I will give him only truth, history, biography, 



26 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

or useful stories." Such a mother fails to see that in 
excluding fairy and folk-tales from her child's mind she is 
simply shutting the door of his imagination and hindering 
his power to do great things in after-life by closing for 
him the storehouse of creative imagination. Imagination 
is the most powerful factor in any life. Helen Keller, 
when asked what sense she considered the most im- 
portant, replied, " Imagination ! " By imagination the 
blind see the invisible. By this sense, Newton, Kepler, 
Davy, Faraday, Edison, and Burbank saw from afar 
their great discoveries and inventions and brought them 
near. Such an unpoetic mother would rob her child of 
his right to his inheritance of an age-long literature; a 
literature marking his kinship with the race-children of 
the past; a literature adapted to his needs as to theirs, 
and a literature which will serve as the basis of all true 
spiritual culture. " There are those who reduce life to 
the plane of that of Dickens' Thomas Gradgrind, who 
cared not for feeling and sentiment, but must have cold, 
bare, hard facts, enjoying only the practical and the 
usable, and living in his rectangular house and having 
everything about him right-angled. But we know that 
in children there is a place for the sentimental and the 
free play of feeling, although these are not to be made 
prominent in training and instruction but provided for 
in the material used. Doctor Parker said : ' The atheism, 
the materialism of the present day in our land, is largely 
due to the banishment of fiction and fairy tales by the 
Puritans. " Facts," Gradgrind " facts," drive beauty and 
holiness from the child's heart.' " ^ 

Fancy, imagination, power to see the unseen, need to 
be fed with suitable food. Imaginative stories exercise 
and cultivate the imagination, the creative faculty. If a 
child lacks imagination, fairy stories help to arouse it. 

1 " The Pedagogical Bible School," Samuel B. Haslett, p. 267. 



TYPES OF STORIES TO TELL 2/ 

If he knows little about nature, tales of woods and fields 
will quicken and interest. Children who are brought up 
in cities especially need the counteracting influences 
breathed by these race-long tales which are so imagi- 
native, objective, and childlike, and which have been the 
joy of childhood from the morning of the world. The 
best fairy tales also have great ethical value. They 
present moral truths in a way that appeals directly to 
children. " Cinderella " teaches the reward of modesty 
and humility ; the " Golden Goose " shows the reward of 
charity and a kind heart ; " Red Ridinghood " illustrates 
obedience to parents, the cardinal virtue of childhood; 
" Boots and His Brothers," readiness ; " Toads and 
Diamonds," good and bad speech ; and " The Frog 
King," keeping a promise. Fairy tales that present per- 
verted ideas of right and wrong or that picture success 
achieved by lying or theft, or that justify ingratitude, 
disloyalty, or irreverence, should find no place in collec- 
tions for children. Yet, in the desire to impress a moral 
lesson, great care must be taken not to strip these age- 
long stories of all their native freshness and strength. 
The best moral effect will be gained by letting the child 
enjoy the story as a whole without too pronounced 
emphasis on the moral. Some good collections are: 
Grimm's " Household Tales " ; Andersen's " Wonder 
Stories " ; Grimm Brothers and Joseph Jacobs, " Fairy 
Tales " ; Baldwin, " Fairy Stories and Fables." 



5. FABLES 

Fables are short stories in which animals or inanimate 
objects are represented as speaking or acting with human 
interests or passions. They were among the earliest 
stories told by all races. Many of the commonest fables, 
earliest told to children to-day, such as the " Dog in 



28 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

the Manger " and " The Boy Who Cried Wolf," origi- 
nated in Asia, ^sop's " Fables " was the first moral 
lesson book for children. They are now an integral part 
of our literature and language. For this reason, as well 
as others, children should become familiar with them. 
They please the child's fancy, satisfy his craving for 
short, objective, ethical tales, and impress such virtues 
as prudence, honesty, contentment, generosity, and wis- 
dom. Fables that teach revenge or success by lying and 
craft should be rejected. 

Some good collections are : ^sop ; La Fontaine ; 
" Fables and Folk Stories," H. E. Scudder ; " Fairy 
Stories and Fables," Baldwin. 

6. MYTHS 

Myths have their origin in primitive man's personifi- 
cation of the forces and objects of nature, as gods, 
demons, giants, dwarfs, light-elves, spirits of darkness, 
trolls, and hideous monsters. Interpreting nature in 
poetic imagery and language, primitive races came to 
believe in these myths as their religion. The Greek 
myths, which are largely personifications of the beauty 
of nature, are especially pleasing to children who love 
stories of flowers, trees, fountains, and sudden transfor- 
mations, as the natural response to their inherent love of 
nature. The Norse myths are personifications of the 
awe-inspiring natural phenomena of the cold and rugged 
northland. Such stories picture stalwart courage, manli- 
ness, and heroic virtue, qualities that appeal to later 
childhood and youth. The myths of the American In- 
dian, such as Longfellow's " Hiawatha," treating of the 
spirit of the wild woods and free out-of-door life, are 
well adapted to the child's love of nature. 

" Myth is not a goal. It is a means by which the goal 



TYPES OF STORIES TO TELL 29 

is reached. The race grew out of the myth-making 
period of its development, and the child will grow out of 
the myth-loving stage in its religious development, unless 
hindered by parents or teachers who unwisely withhold 
this childhood religious material from him." - 

Some of the best collections of myths are Hawthorne's 
" Wonder-Tales " ; Kingsley's " Greek Heroes " ; " Norse 
Stories Retold," Mabie; " Stories of the Red Children," 
Dorothy Brooks. 

7. LEGENDS 

Both myths and legends belong to folk-lore literature 
and to the idealistic type of story. The difference be- 
tween them is that the myth is a personification of nature, 
while the legend is an idealization of a person or place. 
" The myth is a creation of fancy from ideas. The 
legend is the perception of an idea from a basis in fact. 
The myth is a creation of pure and absolute imagination. 
The legend is a story based on historical fact, but en- 
larged, abridged, or modified at pleasure. Both myths 
and legends express the imagination, emotion, and spirit 
of early man, and, for this reason, make a strong appeal 
to the same qualities in the soul of those who are in the 
early years of life to-day." As all races have their 
legends, the list of them is long. Not one-thousandth 
part of them can be told. Among legends that age after 
age has loved and treasured, are those of India, brought 
together in the " Jataka Tales," those of Greece and 
Rome, of the Middle Ages, of the Northmen, of King 
Arthur and the Round Table, and of the American In- 
dian. Some of the best collections are : " Juventus 
Mundi," Gladstone ; " Famous Legends," Crommelin 
(legends of all countries) ; " Legends of Greece and 

* " The Pedagogical Bible School," Haslett, p. 250. 



30 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

Rome," Kupper; '* Book of Legends," Scudder; " Child's 
Book of Saints," Canton. 

8. NATURE STORIES 

Stories of animals, birds, pets, trees, plants, flowers, 
mountains, seas, and other expressions of nature are 
very popular with children from their earliest years. But 
these stories need adaptation and strengthening with the 
growing years. They may be used to teach the habits of 
animals or the laws of plant life, thus stimulating sci- 
entific interest in the animal and plant world. Their best 
use is simply to please and delight the child's fancy. 
How children revel in a story that begins, " Once there 
was a bear," or " There was once a little, furry rabbit." 
Such stories are the first steps, in curiosity and imagina- 
tion, into the feelings and fortunes of creatures different 
from themselves, preparing for a sympathetic interest 
in the lives of others, not only of animals, but of human 
beings. In the early years, fanciful animal stories may 
be given. But later, only true stories of animals have 
value. Some good nature stories are : " Nature Myths 
and Stories," Cooke ; " True Tales of Birds and Beasts," 
Jordan ; " Door-yard Stories," Pierson ; " True Bird 
Stories," Miller. 

9. ALLEGORICAL STORIES 

The allegory is a double story, or two stories in one. 
While one story is being told, another, a deeper and 
often a still more interesting story, is caught by the 
imagination or reason. Fables and parables are short 
allegories with one definite moral. The allegory has been 
the favorite form of story among almost all nations, and 
is especially pleasing to children. The Bible contains a 
number of beautiful allegories, one being the comparison 



TYPES OF STORIES TO TELL 3 1 

of Israel to a vine, in the Eighteenth Psalm. ^Esop's 
fable of the stomach and its members is an allegory. 
Some of the most perfect allegories are found in " The 
Golden Windows," and " The Silver Crown," by Laura 
E. Richards. Ruskin's " King of the Golden River " ; 
Spenser's " Faerie Queene " ; Swift's " Tale of a Tub " ; 
Addison's " Vision of Mirza " ; Mrs. Gatty's " Parables 
from Nature " ; Miss Slossum's " Story-Tell-Lib " ; and, 
above all, Bunyan's " Pilgrim's Progress," are allegories 
with which every modern boy and girl should become 
familiar. 

10. HISTORICAL STORIES 

Idealistic stories — fairy tales, folk-lore, myths, legends, 
fables, and allegories — have their place. They add to the 
poetry, imagery, enjoyment, spirituality, and enrichment 
of a life that would often be wholly prosaic without them. 
But after all, the grpwing boy and girl who pleads 
" Tell me a true story," at approximately the age of six, 
reveals the truth that the mind cannot be satisfied with- 
out the solid, hard, real ground of historical and scien- 
tific fact. For this reason by far the larger number of 
stories that must be told, and that are demanded by ad- 
vancing childhood and youth, are realistic stories. These 
are stories from national or world history, biography, 
personal reminiscences and adventures, true stories of 
animals, and all others that recount actual happenings. 
" These have a special value because, besides suggesting 
a principle, they also indicate how it may receive specific 
application in life. The deeds of the Christian martyrs 
and of the modest heroes of every-day life have a certain 
power which is beyond that of the most beautiful myth. 
The story of what Jesus did means more than all the 
visions of all the prophets." ^ 

' Dr. E. P. St. John, " Stories and Story-Telling," p. 2A,, 



32 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

Stories of national history impress the mind of the 
young with patriotism. Historical world stories inspire 
the heart of the young with a broader human sympathy 
for all the nations of the earth. The hunger for the 
heroic, which is native to the imagination and emotion 
of every growing boy and girl, may be fed by these 
classic stories of heroic action, endurance, decision, cour- 
age, faith, and self-sacrifice. 



II. BIOGRAPHICAL STORIES 

" God writes his greatest thoughts in noble men and 
heroic women." The Bible is a book of biographies. 
The Gospels are the four biographies of its preeminent 
character, Jesus. This is one reason for the great charm 
of the Bible stories and for the great value of the Bible 
as a never-failing source from whence to gather material 
for the unfolding mind of childhood and youth. 

History too is largely the story of great lives in their 
setting. The stories of individuals, and of events in 
which they are concerned, furnish the best historical 
material for boys and girls from nine to twelve. In- 
deed, biography should be central in the study of history 
at least to the sixteenth year. Suitable stories of the 
lives of great men and women are interesting at all 
stages of life, but particularly during the years of later 
childhood and early adolescence, when environment is 
widening and social and world interests are expanding. 
Biography is full of religious nourishment, spiritual con- 
tagion, ethical uplift, and humanitarian values. That 
which makes the strongest appeal is found in the Old 
and New Testaments, the life of Christ, the Acts of the 
Apostles, the great lives in national and general history, 
lives of discoverers, pioneers, missionaries, adventurers, 
inventors, warriors, seamen, and characters full of deeds 



TYPES OF STORIES TO TELL 33 

of daring and difficulty, but at the same time manly and 
moral. Biography has too often, in the past, been limited 
to a record of the heroic deeds of generals and states- 
men in war and political upheavals. We now see more 
clearly the value, in the earlier period of education, of 
biographies of leaders in other fields besides war and 
statesmanship, and we realize the necessity of inspiring 
youth with lofty ideals, by examples of both men and 
women in all possible forms of human service and moral 
and social heroism. This truer interpretation of the 
ethical and spiritual value of biography and history is 
illustrated by the biographical stories in Chapter X, 
" Heroes of Peace," and Chapter XI, " Modern Boys 
and Girls Who Became Useful." 



12. ALTRUISTIC STORIES 

Stories of unselfish heroism appeal to every age, but 
they find their strongest interest for the spirit of youth 
during the years of middle adolescence. Such stories of 
self-sacrifice may be selected from the Bible, history, fic- 
tion, or modern life. They not only show what is noble 
action, but touch the soul with the contagion of self- 
sacrificing deeds. From the Ethical Index, on page 291, 
under Altruism, Loyalty, Self-sacrifice, and such syno- 
nyms, a list of altruistic stories may be made. 



13. LOVE STORIES 

Stories of real or romantic love between the sexes have 
their strong appeal in middle adolescence. There may 
be an interest in these before this period or it may appear 
later. Such stories are usually for reading, but some of 
the best for telling are: "Ruth, the Gleaner"; "John 
Alden and Priscilla"; "Evangeline"; "The Silver 
C 



34 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

Girl " ; " Love Stories of Great Missionaries," by Belle 
M, Brain ; " The Three Weavers," by Annie Fellows 
Johnson. 

14. VOCATIONAL STORIES 

These are the stories that will aid in preparing" young 
people in choosing their life-work, or that will inspire 
them with the highest ideals in their work. Such stories 
may be found among all types. For example, the fairy 
story, " Boots and His Brothers," shows the value of 
being prepared ; the Bible story, " When Jesus Was 
Lost," shows when Jesus found his life-work ; " The 
Legend of St. Christopher " reveals ideals of service, 
and such legendary or historical stories as " Horatius at 
the Bridge," " King Bruce and the Spider," and " Dick 
Whittington " illustrate the rewards of service. Biog- 
raphies are almost all vocational. This vocational in- 
terest, either clearly revealed or simply implied, may 
transform a story, otherwise distasteful to young people, 
into one full of interest, inspiration, and profit. 



15. INSTRUCTIONAL STORIES 

These are stories that are invented simply for the 
purpose of imparting instruction in some branch of sci- 
ence or art. The story-form and story-interest is taken 
advantage of to produce interest in the desired trade, 
craft, occupation, or science. Such stories must be used 
with care. But if used moderately and with tact they 
may prove of educational and even vocational value. 

16. HUMOROUS STORIES 

Variety is of great importance in story-telling, as in 
all ethical instruction and educational training. Life 



TYPES OF STORIES TO TELL 35 

demands variety. Moral life is full of variety, vitality, and 
humor. Nor need we fear to bring these qualities into 
story-telling. Humor is leaven. Without it ethical teach- 
ing becomes flat. Laughter too is good for the world. 
It is a tonic to the emotions. " It does us all good to 
laugh if there is no smear or smirch in the laugh; fun 
sets the blood flowing more freely in the veins, and 
loosens the strained cords of feeling and thought; the 
delicious shock of surprise at every ' funny spot ' is a 
kind of electric treatment for the nerves." (Sara Cone 
Bryant.) Laughter is tone to the spirit and inspiration 
to fresh effort. It is a sign too, of broadening imagina- 
tion and sympathies. As the nonsense and play-story are 
good for the child, so the wholesomely humorous story is 
good for the youth and the adult. 



IV 



PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR STORY- 
TELLING 

THE true story-teller, like the true poet, is bom, and 
not made. Talent in this creative art is a gift of 
nature, like a beautiful voice or skill in painting. But 
study, cultivation, and practice are necessary to advance 
the story-teller in his art, as in the case of the singer or 
the painter. Some practical suggestions may prove of 
value to beginners in story-telling: 

I, ENCOURAGEMENT 

There is comfort in knowing that a story need not be 
perfectly told to interest and delight little children in the 
home, kindergarten, or the lower grades of the Sunday- 
school and public school. The imagination of the little 
child is so keen, so abundant, and flows so freely that 
it triumphs over external defects of presentation and 
reaches the heart of things. Though this is true of one 
child or of a small group of children of about the same 
age and interests, it is not true, as practice soon teaches, 
of a large group, especially of children of different inter- 
ests. Such an audience needs the magnetism of per- 
sonality to hold it, and some real art in the presentation 
of the movement and details of the story. 

Such professional story-telling is a rare gift, and is as 
valuable as it is rare. Not every parent, teacher, min- 
ister, or educator of youth, who may wish to be a story- 
teller may have the skill, time, patience, or perseverance 
36 



PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR STORY-TELLING 37 

to become an artist. Such training would involve the 
study of the technique of the use of the voice and of 
gesture, a thorough knowledge of the sources for stories, 
skill in the selection and preparation of material, practice 
in actual story-telling, and the hearing of stories told by 
professionals, the character of whose work unconsciously 
becomes the ideal of the story-teller. Training for such 
professional story-telling is given in colleges, presented 
in a number of interesting books, and encouraged by 
story-tellers' training classes and leagues in many places. 
The hints here offered have the more modest story- 
teller in mind, the busy parent in the home, and the 
Sunday-school or public-school teacher, who may not 
have access to the technical books on the art of story- 
telling. 

2. TELL THE STORY 

Tell, do not read, the story. The teller is free. The 
reader is fettered. The oral story is more spontaneous, 
the connection with the audience is closer, the effect is 
more magnetic. It is the story plus personality and ap- 
preciation. The story-teller can give his message with 
his eyes as well as his lips without book or memory of 
the printed page to burden. The world stories contained 
in this volume are all designed for telling. After read- 
ing them through carefully once or twice, the mind will 
have the facts ready for telling. Stories adapted for 
telling must be written with more dramatic action and 
movement than those adapted for reading. But stories 
that are in a form suitable for telling are well adapted 
for enjoyable reading. Hence these stories have a 
double value, for telling or reading. But let it be kept 
well in mind that telling a story is incomparably better 
than reading it to any listener. The charm of a book 
cannot equal the magnetism of personality. 



38 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

3. SELECT THE STORY 

Select your story with some definite purpose in mind — 
pure enjoyment or some definite ethical principle, and 
let the aim be clearly in mind in the preparation for 
telling it. Select your story also with the child's story- 
interests in mind, as presented in Chapter II. Make sure 
also that it is suitable in length and in style. Children 
who are accustomed to hearing stories can listen a longer 
time than those whose ears and brains are quite un- 
trained. With very young children five minutes gives 
room for a really stirring tale. 



4. MAKE THE STORY YOUR OWN 

This is not the task of the memory, but of the imagi- 
nation and the feelings. Read and reread the story. Do 
not memorize it. Visualize it. Picture it mentally. Fall 
in love with it. See the images. Feel the emotions of 
the characters. Breathe the atmosphere. Absorb its 
spirit, scene, setting, plot, people, and parts. Make it 
your own creation, living anew in your own soul. Then 
lay the book aside, and at leisure reproduce it, part by 
part, in your own thought or words, making sure that you 
have well in mind the story's four parts : ( i ) Beginning ; 
(2) progress of events; (3) climax; (4) end. 



5. MASTER THE FOUR PARTS OF YOUR STORY 

(i) Your story must have a beginning, which should 
be brief, concrete, interesting, introducing the chief char- 
acter, scene, atmosphere, or spirit of the story in the 
fewest possible words. 

(2) Your story must have a progress of events, an 
orderly movement, giving the essential facts, step by 



PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR STORY-TELLING 39 

step, and full of action, leading up to the climax without 
revealing it in advance. 

(3) Your story must have a climax that cannot be 
missed. This is the point and pith of your story. It is 
•that for which it is mainly told and enjoyed. If a moral 
lesson is to be imparted, it is here that it is enforced. 
And failure here is total failure. Make sure of this 
climax, for to miss it is like trying to tell a joke, missing 
the point, and meeting humiliation and defeat. 

(4) Your story must have an end. A successful ending 
is quite as important as the climax, and needs careful 
consideration. It must be brief and appropriate, and 
leave the mind at rest, without any questioning or dis- 
satisfaction. It may be well for the beginner at first to 
analyze his stories in this way, into these four parts, 
either in his thoughts or on paper, for it will give excel- 
lent practice and make the retention of the story by the 
memory a simple matter. But with practice and drill 
these four parts of a good story will take their place in 
the mind and in the telling most naturally, easily, and 
pleasantly. 

6. INTRODUCING YOUR STORY 

The consciousness of having a good story to tell, and 
a story adapted to the age and interests of one's audi- 
ence, is the first step to that ease, freedom, dignity, and 
repose which are necessary at the start. If the story- 
teller can select his time, as many parents and teachers 
can, so much the better. If he is met by an ill-prepared 
audience, or an audience in an uncomfortable place, 
or under adverse circumstances, his introduction must 
serve to put him in touch with his audience. If several 
stories are in mind, the order may be changed, and a 
" humorous " story or other introductory remarks may 
serve to pave the way for the necessary response. Then 



40 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

he may proceed with the intended story or stories with 
his own eye and heart kindled, moving in a straightfor- 
ward, spontaneous, self-forgetful way toward the desired 
lesson in the climax, and ending happily, leaving the 
audience delighted and impressed. 



7. RETELL YOUR STORIES 

Practise your stories ! " Repetition is the mother of 
stories well told." Repeat them. Do not be afraid of 
retelling them. The younger the children are the better 
they like old friends. Every one loves a " twice-told 
tale." (Hervey.) "Practise! It will go clumsily at 
first. Imagination will be dull, facts will escape your 
memory, parts will be confused. But persevere, perse- 
vere! Study results. Listen to others. Catch their 
points of effectiveness. Above all things practise! prac- 
tise! practise!" (Wells.) 

8. LET CHILDREN REPRODUCE YOUR STORIES 

Children should be given an opportunity to tell and 
retell the stories heard. Children like to create, and 
whether it be with sand, wood, or words, the underlying 
processes are the same. For a child to retell a story 
means that he enters into the spirit of it, that he sees 
clearly the mental picture, that he feels the atmosphere 
and life of the story. In this way imagination, memory, 
language, and reason are enriched and, at the same time, 
the ethical principle of the story is more clearly impressed 
on the child's mind, to be assimilated at pleasure. 



V 
GAMES WITH STORIES 

FINGER STORIES 

FROEBEL was the first educator to discover the educa- 
tional value of simple, instructive mother-plays. His 
" Mother Play Book " is one of the greatest books in the 
whole history of education. In it Froebel pictures home 
as it ought to be, and accompanies the mother in her 
daily round through the house, garden, field, worship, 
market, and church. Here is one of his charming set of 
finger games for the mother to teach her child while 
he is yet in her arms : 

This is the mother, good and dear ; 
This is the father, with hearty cheer ; 
This is the brother, stout and tall; 
This is the sister, who plays with her doll ; 
And this is the baby, the pet of all. 
Behold the good family, great and small ! 

In such a song, the dawning consciousness of the child 
is turned to the family relations, and is surely an improve- 
ment on the old nursery method of playing " This little 
pig went to market." 

There are also little story finger-plays in which ges- 
tures may be employed as in the finger-play rhymes, 
A collection of these finger stories, the first play stories 
for infants, is given in " Descriptive Stories for All the 
Year," by M. Bumham ; and in " Finger Plays," by Emilie 
Poulsson. 

41 



42 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

PLAYING THE STORIES 

In early childhood, as soon as a story takes possession 
of the child, he shows a tendency to enter into its persons 
and its action; to mimic the voices, to ape the manners, 
to imitate the acts. This is the instinct of imitation and 
play. The child should be allowed to play out the story 
in this way, or better still, the parent or teacher may 
propose playing the story. Not every story may be 
played equally well, but the following familiar child's 
stories may be used in play and heartily enjoyed without 
staging or any stage terms — just natural, spontaneous, 
hearty play : " Little Red Ridinghood," " The Fox and 
the Grapes," " The Lion and the Mouse," " The Hare 
and the Tortoise." " Dick Whittmgton and His Cat," 
" Androcles and the Lion," and others in this book. 

" The Fox and tlie Grapes " (page 6y) may be played 
by a single child. A wall is selected for holding the 
imaginary bunches of grapes. The child stands or 
crouches, looking up longingly at them, then jumps up 
for them, and, finally, after a fall, walks or crawls away, 
saying, " I know those grapes are sour and not worth 
eating." 

" The Lion and the Mouse " (page 74) may be played 
by two children. One child, choosing to be a lion, lies 
flat on the floor taking a nap. The child acting as a 
mouse crawls over him, awakening the lion, who roars 
and pins the mouse to the earth with his paw. " Let me 
go ! I'll help you some time," cries the mouse, and, being 
freed, runs away. Later the lion is in an imaginary net, 
the meshes of which the mouse gnaws, and then runs 
away, saying, " I did help you after all, you see." 

In a similar way many of the stories of this book may 
be reproduced in play by two or more children to their 
great enjoyment and instruction. 



GAMES WITH STORIKS 43 

DRAMATIZATION OF STORIES 

As in the day-school kindergartens, Httle children p.ay 
stories in response to a natural impulse to act out what- 
ever they are thinking about, so in Sunday-school primary 
classes simple stories may sometimes be played with 
great pleasure and profit. In a school in Chicago the 
teacher had told the story of the " Lost Sheep." Later 
the children played the story. They made the fold of 
chairs. One child was the shepherd, another child was 
the wandering sheep, and all the other children were the 
sheep who followed the shepherd safely back to the fold. 
When the shepherd realized that one sheep was missing, 
he started out to hunt for it. He looked behind great 
rocks (chairs) and in all dangerous places until he 
found the lost sheep. Certainly the child who took the 
part of the little lost sheep will not forget. In such a 
simple way the beginner in both the day-school and the 
Sunday-school, or in the home, may act out a story 
whose lesson will never be effaced from memory. 

In later grades, historical and even Bible stories may 
be dramatized in short plays with excellent results. On 
special days, instead of presenting a ready-made cantata, 
let the children give a little play of their own composi- 
tion, the result of several weeks of work upon a suitable 
Bible story. 

Two good books of special interest on this whole sub- 
ject are : " Historical Plays of Colonial Days," by L. E. 
Tucker and Estelle L. Ryan ; " Quaint Old Stories to 
Read and Act," Marion F. Lansing. 



VI 
USE OF THE ETHICAL INDEX 

FREQUENTLY a parent in the home, a teacher in 
the schoolroom, a minister, or other child-helper, in 
dealing with children, wishes to find a suitable story, at 
a moment's notice, that may aptly and forcibly illustrate 
some ethical principle that he may wish to inculcate. 
Often a story, well selected and aptly told, will hold up 
" the mirror to nature " and, indirectly, by the law of 
suggestion, impress the mind and heart of the child far 
more successfully than a precept, command, or obtrusive 
moral. The Ethical Index, which will be found at the 
end of this book, on page 291, is for this purpose. By a 
moment's reflection upon the moral principle desired to 
be impressed or suggested, a story illustrating it may be 
found. Of course, in many stories more than one ethical 
principle may be found, but no more than one, and that 
the strongest and most evident lesson, should be empha- 
sized in one story. In this ethical use of a story great care 
must be taken not to overemphasize the moral lesson 
embedded in it, for that will be to lose it. In the use of 
this index the story-teller may well remember the prayer 
of Henry Van Dyke, " May I never tag a moral to a tale 
or tell a story without a meaning." 



44 



Part II 
Stories to Tell 



I 

FAIRY AND WONDER TALES 
(Adapted for Children, Three to Six Years.) 

I. THE RUNAWAY PANCAKE 

ONCE upon a time seven hungry children were stand- 
ing around the fireside, watching their mother fry- 
ing a pancake for supper. " Oh, give me a bit, mother 
dear, I'm so hungry," each of the children said. " Yes," 
said the mother, " only wait till it turns, and you shall 
have some." Pancake trembled and tried to jump out of 
the pan, but its back was so weak that it fell flat again 
on the other side. When that side was cooked, and its 
back felt stronger, Pancake gave a spring, jumping right 
out of the pan upon the floor, and began rolling away 
like a wheel, out through the door and down the steep 
hill. " Stop ! Stop ! Pancake ! " cried the mother, running 
after it with the frying-pan in one hand and the spoon 
in the other. " Stop ! won't you stop ? " all the children 
screamed; but Pancake rolled on faster and faster down 
the hill. It was a funny sight to see a man, and a hen, and 
a rooster, and a duck, and a goose, and a gander, all 
joining in the chase, trying to catch Pancake, who slipped 
by them all and rolled on. At the bottom of the hill 
there was a deep river. Just as Pancake rolled near it a 
Pig came up and said, " Pancake, roll on my snout, and 
I'll take you safely across." " Thank you," said Pancake, 
rolling right upon Piggy's nose. He sat there till they 
reached the other side in safety. " Ouf ! Ouf ! " then 
grunted the Pig ; " what will yoti pay me for carrying 

47 



48 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

you across ? " When Pancake said, " I haven't anything 
to pay you," the Pig threw back his head, opened his 
mouth wide, and down went Pancake, saying, " I wish 
I had been eaten by those poor, hungry children, rather 
than by this nasty Pig ! " And that was the end of 
Runaway Pancake. 



2. THE LITTLE RED HEN 

Once there was a Little Red Hen that lived, so neat 
and tidy, all alone in her house in the wood. Over the 
hill and far away in a den in the rocks lived a bad young 
Fox. He wanted to eat the Little Red Hen, but every 
time he went to her home he could not get her. One 
morning he took a big bag and told his mother to have 
the pot boiling when he got home so they could cook the 
Hen for supper that night. Over the hill he crept, trot, 
trot, trot, and saw Little Red Hen picking up sticks in 
front of her house. The Fox quietly slipped in without 
being seen, and hid behind the door. The Little Red Hen 
came in with her apron full of sticks, but when she saw 
the Fox with his bushy tail spread out on the floor, she 
became so scared she flew with a great scream to a high 
beam under the roof. The tricky Fox began to whirl 
around and around after his tail so fast that the Hen 
got so dizzy she fell to the floor. Quickly the Fox 
picked her up, popped her into his bag, and trotted off 
for home. Coming to a hill he thought he would stop 
to take a rest, and he put his bag on the ground. Quick' 
as a wink the Hen pecked a hole in the bag, jumped out, 
rolled a stone into the bag in her place, flew away to her 
home, and locked the door. " The Little Red Hen is 
heavy," said the Fox as he started off again. As soon 
as he saw his mother, he cried, " Here is the Hen for 
our supper. Lift the cover off the pot, while I pop 



FAIRY AND WONDER TALES 49 

her in." When the mother Hfted the cover, the young 
Fox untied the bag and gave it a shake. Pop! Splash! 
Splash ! Into the boiling water dropped the heavy stone. 
Out flew the boiling water, splashing and scalding the 
young Fox and his mother to death. So the Little Red 
Hen lived happily and tidily in her house after that. 



3. THE GOLDEN GOOSE 

Once a mother lived with her three sons in a house in 
the woods. One day the mother said to the oldest son, 
" Go, and cut wood in the forest, and here is a good 
dinner for you." At dinnertime a queer, little old man 
came up and said, " I'm so hungry. Give me some of 
your dinner." " Be off," said the selfish boy, and he ate 
all his dinner by himself. Then he began to chop down a 
tree, but his axe slipped and cut his leg, and he went 
hobbling home without any wood. Next day the mother 
said to the next boy, " Go, and cut wood in the forest, 
and here is a good dinner for you." At dinnertime the 
same queer little old man came and said, " I'm so 
hungry. Give me some of your dinner." " No," said the 
selfish boy, who ate all his dinner by himself. Then he 
began to chop a tree, but his axe slipped and cut his 
foot, and he went hobbling home without any wood. The 
next morning the youngest boy, Dummling, said, 
" Mother, I'll get you some wood." His mother gave 
him only some dry crusts, and he went into the woods. 
The same little old man came, saying, " I'm so hungry. 
Give me some of your dinner." " Yes, gladly, I will," 
said Dummling. In a moment the little old man changed 
the dry bread into a rich feast, and they both ate as 
much as they wanted. Then the little old man said: 
" You have been kind to me. Now I will do something 
for you. Cut down this tree, and at the roots you will 



50 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

find a Golden Goose." Dummling quickly chopped down 
the tree, and in a hollow at the roots found a Golden 
Goose. He picked it up and went to the nearest stopping- 
place for the night, where he found three sisters who 
wanted some of the golden feathers. So, when Dummling 
had gone to bed, the oldest girl went in where the goose 
was to pluck a feather, but she stuck fast. The second 
girl came in later to pluck a feather, and she stuck fast 
too. Then the third sister, greedy for a feather too, put 
in her hand to get one, and she stuck fast. So the three 
girls had to stay with the goose all night. The next 
morning Dummling came in, and, not noticing the girls 
were stuck fast to it, picked up the goose and started off 
with it under his arm. The three girls were obliged to 
follow as fast as their legs could carry them down the 
street. A minister seeing the strange sight called out, 
" Shame ! following a man like that ! Let go ! " But as 
soon as he touched them he stuck fast and had to follow. 
Then a policeman ran up, saying to the minister, " For 
shame ! following girls like that ! Let go ! " And as soon 
as he touched them he stuck fast and had to follow. It 
was a funny sight to see these five trudging behind one 
another, " Help ! Help ! " cried the policeman. Then two 
men going to work with picks and spades ran up, but as 
soon as they touched them they stuck fast and had to fol-r 
low. So these seven, all in line, treading on one another's 
heels, followed Dummling and his Golden Goose until 
they reached the gates of the city in which a King lived 
who had a daughter so very serious that no one could 
ever make her laugh. The King had promised that who- 
ever could make her smile should have her for a wife, 
and should be the King's son. When Dummling heard 
that he went at once near the palace window, and when 
the Princess looked out and saw such a comical sight she 
burst into a hearty laugh. So Dummling became the 



FAIRY AND WONDER TALES 5 1 

King's son, and lived with the Princess and his Golden 
Goose, happy ever afterward. 



4. DIAMONDS AND TOADS 

Once there was a mother who lived with her two 
daughters in a house in the woods. The elder daughter 
was very proud and disagreeable; the younger one was 
kind, sweet-tempered, and beautiful. The mother was 
very fond of the elder daughter because she was more 
like herself, and she disliked the younger one and made 
her work hard all the time in the kitchen and go twice 
a day to carry water in a pitcher from the spring in the 
woods two miles from home. 

One day, when this younger daughter was at the 
spring, a poor old woman came to her and asked her for 
a drink. " Yes," said the kind, obliging girl, and she 
gave her a cool, refreshing drink from her pitcher. The 
woman said : " As you have been kind to me, I will give 
you this gift. At every word you speak a jewel or a 
flower shall come from your mouth." When she reached 
home her mother scolded her for being gone so long. 
" I beg your pardon, mother dear," she said, " for not 
being quicker." And as she spoke, out of her mouth 
dropped two diamonds, two pearls, and six roses. 
" What do I see ? " exclaimed her mother. When the girl 
told her all, the mother said : " I must send my dearest 
daughter to receive this gift too. Come, Fanny, see what 
comes out of your sister's mouth when she speaks. All 
you have to do to get the same gift is to go and give the 
poor old woman a drink from the pitcher." " I won't 
go," said the ugly-tempered girl ; " let sister give me 
some of her jewels. She does not need them all." At 
last her mother persuaded her to go, and she went 
grumbling all the way. When she reached the spring she 



52 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

saw, not the poor old woman her sister had met, but a 
beautiful lady, who asked her for a drink. It was the 
fairy changed from the oJd woman into a princess. " I 
did not come out to give you a drink," said the selfish 
girl ; " you can get water from the spring as well as I." 
" You are not very polite," said the fairy ; " since you are 
so rude and unkind I give you this gift: At every word 
you speak, toads and snakes shall come out of your 
mouth." The girl ran home, and as soon as she spoke 
to her mother two snakes and two frogs fell from her 
mouth. " What is this I see ? " cried her mother. The 
girl tried to tell, but at every word toads and snakes 
dropped from her lips. And so it was forever after — 
jewels and flowers fell from the kind girl's mouth, but 
only toads and snakes fell from the mouth of the girl 
who was rude and unkind. — Charles Perrault. 



5. THE FROG KING 

Once there was a king who had a little daughter so 
beautiful that the sun had never seen any one so beautiful. 
Close by the palace there was a dark wood, and under- 
neath a large tree was a well. One day the little Princess 
sat by this well, tossing her golden ball into the air until 
at last it fell into the water. She began to cry bitterly. 
A Frog peeped out of the water and said, " What will 
you give me, King's Little Daughter, if I get your ball 
for you ? " "I will give you anything," she said, " my 
pearls, my jewels, my golden crown." " If you will let 
me be your playmate and sit by your side at table, 
and eat out of your golden plate, and sleep in your 
little snow-white bed, I will bring your ball to you 
again." " I promise all," she said, thinking that a Frog 
could not live with people. In a moment the Frog 
plunged into the water head foremost, caught the ball, and 



FAIRY AND WONDER TALES 53 

swam back with it in his mouth and threw it on the 
grass to her. She picked up her pretty plaything and 
ran away with it, heedless of the Frog's cry, " Wait ! 
Wait ! " She did not listen, but ran home as fast as she 
could and forgot all about her promise to the Frog. 

The next day as the royal family was seated at dinner, 
something came creeping, splish, splash, splish, splash, 
up the marble staircase. Then a knock was heard at the 
door, and a voice said, " King's Little Daughter, open the 
door for me." When she opened the door she saw the 
Frog. She screamed with fright, and slammed the door 
in his face. When she told her father of her promise to 
let the Frog be her playmate, the King said, " What you 
have promised you must keep. Go, and let him in ! " 
She opened the door and the Frog hopped in and followed 
her step by step to the chair. " Lift me up ! " he cried. 
She did not like to do this, but the King said, " What 
you have promised you must keep." When the Frog 
was on the chair, he wanted to be on the table and eat 
out of the golden plate, and when she started to go up- 
stairs he asked her to let him rest on her snow-white bed. 
She was afraid of the cold, clammy Frog, and she began 
to cry again. But the King said, " What you have 
promised you must keep. Ugly though he is, did he not 
help you when you were in distress, and will you despise 
him now ? " So the Princess took hold of him with her 
fingers, carried him upstairs, and put him in a corner. 
When he pleaded again to rest on her snow-white bed, 
she became angry and took hold of him and threw him 
with all her might against the wall. " Now will you be 
quiet, hateful Frog? " she said. But when he fell to the 
floor suddenly he changed from a frog into a beautiful 
Prince with kind and shining eyes looking at her. He 
told her how he had been changed into a Frog by a very 
wicked fairy, and how no one but she could get him out 



54 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

of the well and change him into a King's son again, and 
that when they grew older they would be married and 
live together in his kingdom. The next morning when 
the sun was up, a carriage appeared drawn by eight white 
horses, and when the King and Queen gave their consent 
for the Princess to go, she was glad to be the Queen 
and live in the Prince's beautiful kingdom. But she 
never forgot what her father had told her, " What you 
have promised you must keep." 

6. RED RIDINGHOOD 

Once a sweet little girl, named Red Ridinghood, lived 
with her mother in a house near a wood, and her loving 
Grandmother lived on the other side of the wood. One 
day her mother said, '' Take Grandmother this basket of 
fresh eggs, butter, and cakes, for she is ill. Be sure and 
not leave the main path." The little girl said, " Yes, 
mother, I will do just what you say." Then she took the 
basket and went skipping and singing happily through 
the wood, until she saw some beautiful flowers a little 
distance from the path. " I will gather just a bunch of 
these lovely flowers for Grandmother," she said to her- 
self ; but she had not gone far when she met a big, gray 
Wolf, who said, " Good morning, little girl, where are 
you going ? " " To my Grandmother's," she said. Then 
the Wolf ran on before and knocked at Grandmother's 
door with his paw, " Thump ! Thump ! " Grandmother 
was better and had gone out for a walk. So the Wolf 
walked in, put on Grandmother's nightcap, and jumped 
into her bed. Soon Red Ridinghood came up and knocked 
at the door. "Who's there?" said a voice, trying to 
speak like Grandmother. " It is your little girl," she 
said. " Come in, dear," said the voice. When she 
entered and looked in the bed, she cried out, " O 




cool) MORNING, LITTLE GIRL, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" 



FAIRY AND WONDER TALES 55 

Grandmother, what big ears you have ! " " The better 
to hear you, dear." " What big eyes you have ! " " The 
better to see you, dear." " What big arms you have ! " 
" The better to hug you, dear." " What big teeth you 
have. Grandmother ! " " The better to eat you ! " cried 
the Wolf, springing up. He was just about to eat her 
when the door burst open and in rushed some wood- 
choppers who soon killed the big, gray Wolf. Red Riding- 
hood ran home to her mother as fast as she could, and 
said, " Oh, mother dear ! it happened because I disobeyed 
you, and went in that horrid path where I met the Wolf. 
But I will never, never disobey again ! " 



7. GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS 

Three bears lived in a home of their own in the woods — 
one, a great, big Bear, the Father, with a great, big 
voice; a middle-sized Bear, the Mother, with a middle- 
sized voice ; and Little Baby Bear, with a Httle, wee voice. 
One morning, when the three bears were taking a walk 
while waiting for their breakfast of milk and honey to 
cool, a naughty, disobedient, runaway girl, named Goldi- 
locks, came along and peeped into their window. Seeing 
no one, she walked into the kitchen and began to taste 
the breakfast. Father Bear's was too hot ; Mother Bear's 
was too cold; Baby Bear's was just right, so she ate it 
all up. Then she went into the parlor to rest, and saw 
three chairs. Father Bear's was too hard ; Mother Bear's 
was too soft; Baby Bear's was just right, so she sat on 
it and broke it down. Then Goldilocks went up the nar- 
row stairs to the bears' bedroom. She climbed on Father 
Bear's bed, but that was too high for her; the Mother's 
was too low ; but the Baby Bear's bed was just right, so 
she fell fast asleep. Soon the three hungry bears came 
home. Father Bear roared, " Some one has been 



56 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

TASTING MY BREAKFAST AND SITTING ON MY CHAIR ! " 

Mother Bear growled out: "Some one has been tasting 
my breakfast and sitting on my chair!" Baby Bear 
screamed, " Some one has been tasting my breakfast and 
eaten it all up, and sitting in my chair and broken it 
down! " The bears then rushed up-stairs. " Some one 
HAS BEEN ON MY BED ! " roared Father Bear. " Some one 
has been on my bed too! " growled Mother Bear. " Some 
one has been in my bed, and here she is ! " screamed Baby 
Bear. This awoke Goldilocks, who was so frightened 
she sprang out on the other side of the bed, jumped out 
of the window, and ran home as fast as she could. 

8. THE SLEEPING BEAUTY ^ 

Once a good King and Queen were so happy to have a 
little baby girl that they gave a great feast in the palace, 
to which they invited seven beautiful Fairies, each of 
whom brought her a rich present. But one ugly Fairy, 
named Jealousy, who was angry because she was not 
invited, said, " I'll make the Princess cut her hand with a 
spindle, and she shall die ! " Everybody began to cry, 
but one good Fairy said : " No, she shall not die, but she 
shall sleep for a hundred years, and can be awakened only 
by a good Prince." The King ordered all spindles to be put 
away ; but when the Princess was sixteen years of age an 
old woman, who had not heard of the King's command to 
put away all spindles, let the young Princess spin. In a 
moment she had cut her hand and fell to the ground in 
a deep sleep. The good Fairy flew at once to her side 
and said : " She is not dead, but, as I said, she shall sleep 
a hundred years, and can be awakened only by a good 
Prince." They carried the sleeping Princess home, but 

1 This tale has been told in varying forms by nearly every race to typify the sleep 
of nature during the winter, and its awakening to life and bloom at the touch of 
Spring, the beautiful and good Prince. 



FAIRY AND WONDER TALES 57 

when the Fairy thought how lonely she would be on 
awaking in a hundred years, she touched with her wand 
all the maids and servants, even Mopsy, her pet dog, and 
all fell asleep and were left in the great room in the 
palace with the Sleeping Princess, who lay there dressed 
in her most beautiful, royal garments. The King and 
Queen died of grief soon after, and great trees grew up 
around the palace, hiding it from the world, until a hun- 
dred years passed away. One day a Prince, rich, hand- 
some, and good, was hunting in this thick forest, when 
suddenly he saw the palace towers, and asked an officer 
what the building was. When the officer told him how 
the good Fairy had said a Sleeping Princess in the 
palace could be awakened only by a good Prince, he 
determined to try and awaken her. Quickly entering the 
strange palace he found the beautiful Princess, fair as 
wax, sleeping on her couch, dressed in her royal gar- 
ments, which were very beautiful though so strange and 
old in style. There too were the maids and servants in 
their queer clothes, and Mopsy, the pet dog, sleeping at 
the side of the Princess. The King's son quickly touched 
one of the fair hands of the Sleeping Beauty and stooped 
to kiss it, and in an instant the Princess opened her eyes 
wide and smiled at him. At the same moment all the 
maids and servants, and even Mopsy, awoke and looked 
as fresh as though they had been asleep only a night. 
The servants at once, helped by the good Fairy, prepared 
a rich wedding-feast in the great dining-hall. Then the 
good Prince took the beautiful Princess to his own palace, 
where they were married in great joy. The palace in the 
woods disappeared. The ugly old Fairy, Jealousy, had 
died years before, but the good Fairy, whose name was 
Patience, came often to visit the good Prince and his 
Beautiful Princess, who had awaked from her sleep of 
one hundred years. 



58 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

9. JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK 

Once a poor widow lived alone with her boy. Jack, who 
was careless and paid no attention to what his mother 
said. One day Jack saw her in tears, for, she said, " We 
have nothing now in the world but a cow, which we 
must sell to get food." So next morning, taking the cow 
to market, Jack met a butcher who showed him some 
wonderful beans, which he offered to give for the cow. 
Jack gave him the cow for the beans, and ran home very 
happy, thinking his mother would be happy too over 
his good fortune. But his mother was so grieved that 
she threw the beans out of the window, and both of them 
went supperless to bed that night. Next morning, lo! 
the beans had grown so tall that the stalks made a ladder 
reaching far up into the sky. Unseen by his mother, 
Jack began climbing up, up, up, until he reached the top, 
where he saw a strange country, and in the distance a 
great house. This was the castle of a great Giant who 
had gone on a journey. The Giant's wife received Jack 
kindly, giving him something to eat, and when the Giant 
came home she hid him in the oven. Through a crack 
Jack peeped and saw the Giant eat his supper and then 
place a wonderful hen on the table, and every time he 
said " Lay," she laid a golden egg. When the Giant fell 
asleep Jack jumped out of the oven, picked up the hen, 
ran ofif with it, and climbed down the bean-stalk. He 
found his mother crying, but when Jack put the wonder- 
ful hen on the table and said " Lay," his mother's eyes 
grew big with surprise, and her tears dried at once. 
Soon they had as many golden eggs as they wished to 
live on. But one day a fox ran off with the golden 
hen. Again, unseen by his mother. Jack climbed the 
bean-stalk. This time the wife hid him in the lumber 
closet when the Giant came roaring home. Through a 



FAIRY AND WONDER TALES 59 

crack Jack peeped and saw the Giant eat his supper and 
then place on the table big bags of gold and silver, and 
play with them. When the Giant fell asleep, Jack jumped 
from the closet, picked up the bags of money, ran off 
with them, climbed down the bean-stalk like lightning, 
and ran home. He found his mother again in tears, but 
when Jack showed her the bags of gold her surprise made 
her smile again. Not long after that, again unseen by 
his mother. Jack climbed up the bean-stalk. This time 
the wife hid him in a large kettle when the Giant came 
roaring home. Lifting up the lid a little way, Jack peeped 
out and saw the Giant eat his supper and then take out 
a magic harp and began to play wonderful music. When 
he fell asleep Jack jumped out of the kettle, picked up 
the magic harp, and started off with it. But the magic 
harp called out " Master ! Master ! " so loudly that the 
Giant awoke and began running after Jack, But Jack 
reached the top of the bean-stalk first. He climbed down 
it like lightning, picked up his axe, and chopped down 
the bean-stalk at its roots, making it fall over just as the 
Giant began to climb down. In a moment the wicked old 
Giant fell down into the garden with a loud noise like a 
falling tree. And that was the end of the Giant and the 
Bean-stalk. But Jack never again caused his mother any 
sorrow. 

lO. JACK, THE GIANT-KILLER 

Once a poor farmer had a good son named Jack, who 
was wide-awake and always ready to help. Far up on 
the mountain in a great cave lived a wicked Giant named 
Carmoran, who was so fierce and frightful that everybody 
was afraid of him. Every time he wanted food he came 
down the mountain to the valley and carried off oxen on 
his back, and pigs and sheep tied around his waist. The 
people were in despair. One day Jack heard the town 



OO WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

officers say : " All the treasure the Giant has hidden in his 
cave shall be given to whoever rids the land of this evil 
Giant ! " Jack laughed and said to them, " I will try ! " 
So he took his horn and pick-axe and shovel and began 
digging a pit, deep and broad, covering it with sticks and 
straw. Then he sprinkled earth over it until the place 
looked like solid ground. Then he stood on the other 
side of the pit, and just at the peep of day he 
put his horn to his mouth and blew, " Tan-tivy ! 
Tan-tivy ! " The old Giant awoke, rubbed his eyes and 
rushed out of his cave, and seeing Jack running away, 
cried, " You villain, I'll pay you for troubling my sleep ! 
I'll boil you for breakfast ! " Just as he said that down 
he fell into the pit, and the very foundations of the moun- 
tains trembled at his fall. " O Giant," laughed Jack, 
" will no other food suit you than sweet Jack ? " Jack 
was not long in killing the wicked old Giant in the pitv 
Then he went to the cave and brought out all the treas- 
ure. When the town officers heard of this good deed 
Jack, the farmer's son, had done, they called him 

"Jack, the Giant-killer.'* 

They gave him a sword and belt, and in the belt they 
wrote : 

Here's to the right valiant Cornishman 
Who slew the Giant, Carmoran. 

II. ALADDIN AND HIS WONDERFUL LAMP 

Once there was a Chinese boy named Aladdin, who 
was playing in the street, when a strange-looking man 
called to him, " My boy, I am your uncle ! Come with 
me ! I will give you great riches ! " He took out of 
his pocket a beautiful gold ring, which he gave to the 
boy, who walked away with him. After a long time they 



FAIRY AND WONDER TALES 6l 

came to a great stone which had a ring to lift it up. 
The man lifted up the stone and showed Aladdin a deep 
cave, saying to him : "At the other end of this cave there 
is a door leading to a palace and a garden of fruit trees 
where you will find a lamp hanging. Bring me this lamp 
and I will give you great riches." This man was not 
Aladdin's uncle, but a wicked magician, who wanted to 
use the boy to get this lamp for him, for it had power to 
make whoever possessed it greater than any prince. 
Aladdin went down into the cave and found the lamp and 
everything just as the man had said. When he came back 
to the mouth of the cave he said, " Uncle, help me up ! " 
" Give me the lamp first," said the man. " No," said 
Aladdin, " I won't give it to you until you help me out." 
That made the magician very angry. So, uttering some 
magic words, he slammed the stone down over the mouth 
of the cave, and poor Aladdin was shut up alone in dark- 
ness. The disappointed boy sat a long time thinking what 
to do. But suddenly when he happened to rub the ring 
that the magician had put on his finger and forgotten, in an 
instant the Slave of the Ring, a queer, little old man, stood 
before him saying he was ready to do for him whatever 
he asked. " Then take me out of this cave," said Aladdin, 
and instantly he was out. He ran home and showed his 
mother the lamp. " I will polish it, mother," he said, 
" and then we can sell it for much money." No sooner 
had he rubbed it than the Slave of the Lamp, a great 
strong Giant, stood before him, saying that he was ready 
to do for him whatever he asked. " Then, bring us plenty 
to eat," said Aladdin, and instantly richest food on golden 
plates stood before him. Every time he rubbed the lamp 
the Slave of the Lamp came and gave him everything he 
asked. One day, when he became older, he fell in love 
with a beautiful Princess, and he asked his mother to 
take several golden vases full of rich jewels as a present 



62 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

to the King and beg him to let the Princess become his 
wife. The King laughed at such an idea, but said : " If 
your son will send me forty golden vases like these, full 
of the richest jewels, he shall have the Princess." Alad- 
din quickly rubbed his lamp and asked the Slave of the 
Lamp to bring him forty golden vases filled with richer 
jewels than the former ones. The King was so delighted 
with them that he gave Aladdin the Princess to be his 
wife, and Aladdin asked the Slave of the Lamp for a 
grander palace to live in than the King's. They lived 
very happily until one day, when Aladdin was away 
hunting, a strange-looking man came near the palace 
calling out, " Lamps ! Lamps ! Who will change old 
lamps for new ones ? " A servant ran to her mistress 
and said, " Shall I exchange this ugly old lamp I found 
in the cupboard for a new one ? " Without waiting for 
an answer she took it and sold it to the old pedler, who 
was really the wicked magician in disguise. So he got 
the lamp after all. Quickly he rubbed it, and when the 
Slave of the Lamp appeared, he said, " Transport Alad- 
din's palace and all in it to Africa." Instantly the palace 
was gone. When Aladdin returned from hunting, the 
King ordered the poor fellow's head to be cut off at once, 
but Aladdin plead for forty days to find out where his 
palace and Princess had gone. Then he remembered his 
gold ring. This he quickly rubbed and asked the Slave 
of the Ring to transport him to his palace. Instantly 
Aladdin was transported to Africa, and stood in his 
palace before his Princess, who was in tears because of 
the wicked magician. Soon after that the Slave of the 
Ring helped him to get back his wonderful lamp by 
killing the wicked magician. Then the Slave of the Lamp 
transported him back to his home with his palace and the 
beautiful Princess. But Aladdin never again lost his 
wonderful lamp. 



FAIRY AND WONDER TALES 63 

12. BOOTS AND HIS BROTHERS 

Once there were three brothers, Peter, Paul, and John. 
Their father was very poor. One day, being unable to 
keep them longer, he told them they must go out into the 
world to earn their own living. Not far from their home 
lived a King, in front of whose palace-windows a great 
oak grew, with branches and leaves so thick that the 
light was shut out of the palace. The King had promised 
a great fortune to any one who would cut the oak down. 
Many tried, but the strange thing was, for every chip 
cut off two new chips took its place, so that the tree grew 
larger, rather than smaller, and the palace grew darker. 
The King had promised also to give his daughter and 
half his kingdom to any one who would dig a well so 
that he could get pure water for his palace. Many had 
tried to do this, but the rocks only grew bigger for all 
their digging and shoveling. When the three brothers 
heard of this, each said, " I will help the King and get 
the fortune, the King's daughter and half the kingdom." 
They started off in great expectation, but they had not 
gone far into the fir woods on the side of a steep hill, 
until they heard some one hewing and hacking farther up 
the hill in the wood. " Now, I wonder what that is ? " 
said Jack. " Why, it's a woodchopper, of course," the 
two brothers answered ; " you are always wondering about 
something ! " " Still, I'd like to see," said Jack, and up 
the hill he went while his brothers sauntered on. Jack 
soon saw a strange sight — an axe hacking and hewing 
away all by itself at the root of a great fir tree. " Good 
morning," said Jack. " So you stay here all alone and 
hew, do you ? " " Yes," said the axe, " and here I've 
hewed and hacked a long, long time waiting for you ! " 
" Well, here I am at last," said Jack, and he put the axe 
into his bag. When he climbed down the hill and joined 



64 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

his brothers they laughed at him and said, " Well, what 
did you see ? " " The axe that we heard," Jack answered, 
but he said nothing more. Farther on they came to a 
great ridge of rock which ran up the mountainside, and 
far off they heard something digging and shoveling. 
" Now, I wonder what that is ? " said Jack. " Why, it's a 
woodpecker, of course," answered the brothers ; " you are 
so clever with your wonderings ! " " Still, I'd like to see," 
said Jack, and up the rock he climbed while his brothers 
sauntered slowly on. At the top of the rock he saw a 
strange sight — a spade digging and digging away all by 
itself. " Good morning," said Jack. " So you stay here 
all by yourself and dig, do you? " " Yes," said the spade, 
" and here I've been digging a long, long time waiting 
for you." " Well, here I am at last," said Jack, and he 
placed the spade in his bag, and returned to join his 
brothers, who laughed and said, " Well, what did you 
see? " " The spade that we heard," said Jack. So they 
went along until they came to a brook at which each 
drank, and then Jack said, " I wonder now, where this 
water comes from?" "Why, water rises from a spring 
in the earth," laughed the brothers. " I've a great mind 
to see where this brook starts from," said Jack, starting 
to climb up. At the tiny source of the brook Jack found 
a walnut, out of which the water trickled. The walnut 
said, " I have trickled and trickled here many a long day, 
waiting for you." " Well, here I am at last," said Jack, 
as he filled the little hole in the walnut with moss and 
placed it carefully in the bottom of his bag and ran down 
to meet his brothers again. " Well, have you found out 
where the water comes from ? " they said. " Yes," said 
Jack, "out of a hole up there." So they kept making 
fun of him, until at last they reached the King's palace. 
They found the oak bigger and the rock harder than 
ever, because so many had tried in vain. The King, in 



FAIRY AND WONDER TALES 6$ 

discouragement and despair, had said, " Whoever tries 
and fails now shall have both his ears cut off, and he shall 
be placed on a desert island." The three brothers were 
not afraid. First Peter, and then Paul, tried to chop 
down the oak and fill the well with water, but instead of 
the fortune, they got both their ears cut off, and they 
were sent off to a desert island. Then Jack was ready 
to try. " If you want to look like a sheared sheep with 
your two ears cut off, we're ready for you," said the 
King's servants, really feeling sorry for the young man. 
But Jack took out the axe and said, " Hew ! Hew ! " and 
soon the great oak fell with a crash and great light shone 
in the palace. Then he took out the spade and said, 
" Dig ! Dig ! " and soon the rock broke in two and the well 
was deeper. Then he pulled out the walnut, took away 
the moss from the hole, and put the walnut in the well, 
and the water trickled, trickled so fast that very soon 
pure water filled the well. So Jack had felled the oak 
which darkened the palace, removed the rock, and filled 
the well in the palace-garden with water. Then the King 
gave him the great fortune, his daughter's hand in mar- 
riage and one-half his kingdom, as he had promised. 
And the axe, and the spade, and the walnut said : " Those 
who have ears and will not use them must not complain 
if they are removed ; and are we to blame if we help only 
those who are ready to use us ? " 



II 

FABLES 
(Adapted for Children, Three to Nine Years.) 

I. THE BOY AND THE NUTS 

One day a selfish Boy saw a jar of nuts. He put his 
hand into the jar and grasped as many as his hand could 
hold. As the mouth of the jar was small he could not 
pull his hand out, so he became frightened and began 
to cry. " I can't get my hand out ! " he whined. A boy 
standing near said, " Take only half as many, and you 
can easily get your hand out ! " 

2. THE GOOSE WITH THE GOLDEN EGGS 

Once there was a man who had a wonderful Goose 
that laid for him every day a fine golden tgg. But the 
man wanted to get all the golden eggs at once. So he 
killed the Goose and cut her open, but found she was 
like all other geese. So he lost the Goose he had because 
he was so greedy and impatient. 

3. THE DOG IN THE MANGER 

Once a hungry Cow came to a manger full of hay. 
But a Dog was lying there, snarling and barking, and 
would not let the Cow come near the hay. " Mr. Dog," 
mooed the Cow, " How selfish you are ; you cannot eat 
the hay yourself, and you will let no one else have any 
of it." 
66 



FABLES 67 

4, THE TOADSTOOL AND THE ACORN 

In a forest a Toadstool once sprang up in a night. 
Early the next morning, as soon as the first passer-by 
touched it with his foot, the Toadstool fell to the earth 
and its life was ended. A little Acorn grew and grew 
and grew during more than one hundred years, and it is 
still standing strong and tall in the forest. 

5. THE BOYS AND THE FROGS 

One day some boys at play were throwing stones into 
a pond at some frogs. At last one old Frog peeped up 
out of the water and said, " Boys, why are you so 
cruel ? " " We are only playing ! " shouted the boys. The 
old Frog croaked back : " It may be fun for you, but 
remember it is death to us. Do to us as you would like 
us to do to you." 

6. THE DOVE AND THE ANT 

Once a little Ant went down to the river to drink. He 
fell into the water and began to drown. Just then a 
Dove, perched on a tree, saw him and quickly dropped 
down a leaf, which served as a little boat on which the 
Ant sailed safely to the shore. " Thank you," said the 
Ant as he shook his wet feet, " I shall not forget this." 
Next day a Hunter was aiming his bow and arrow 
straight at the Dove when the Ant bit his foot, making 
the man jump, and the Dove flew away. 




7. THE FOX AND THE GRAPES 

A Fox who was hungry saw some large, juicy grapes 
on a vine high up in a tree. " How good they will 
taste," said he ; "I am going to have some of them." 
Then he gave a run and leaped as high as he could, but 



68 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

the grapes were still far above his head. He could not 
reach them no matter how high he jumped. At last he 
trotted off in a rage, muttering, " I know those are 
sour grapes and not worth eating." 

8. THE CROW AND THE PITCHER 

Once a Crow who was very thirsty found a pitcher 
with a little water at the bottom which he was unable 
to reach. He tried to overturn the pitcher but it was too 
heavy. "Ah! Ah! I know what I'll do," he said. So 
he gathered up pebbles from the ground, and one after 
another dropped them into the pitcher until the water 
gradually reached the top. Then the wise Crow was 

able to drink all the water he wanted. 

\ 

9. THE WIND AND THE SUN 

One morning the Wind said to the Sun, " I am 
stronger than you are." The Sun said, " I know I am 
stronger than you are." As they were quarreling over 
the question a traveler came in sight. So they agreed 
to decide the matter by seeing which first could make him 
take ofT his coat. Then the Wind began blowing, blow- 
ing as fiercely as he could. He nearly tore off the 
traveler's coat, but the man buttoned his coat up more 
closely about him, and the Wind had to give up, beaten. 
Then the Sun, clearing away the clouds, shot his hottest 
beams down on the traveler's back, and the man soon 
threw off his coat. Then the Sun said, " Wind, you make 
more noise, but, you see, I am stronger." 

ID. THE SHEPHERD BOY AND THE WOLF 

Once there was a boy who took care of a flock of 
sheep near a town. One day, when some men were work- 
ing in the town, they heard the boy call, " Wolf ! Wolf ! 



FABLES 69 

The wolves are among the lambs ! " The men ran up to 
him in great haste, but found no wolf among the lambs 
at all. The boy had a good laugh, and said, " I only 
called you for a joke! " He did the same thing two or 
three times. At last the wolves really came and began 
carrying oflf the lambs. The boy cried, " Wolf ! Wolf ! 
The wolves are carrying away the lambs ! " But the men 
said, " He- can't fool us again ! " So they would not 
come, and the wolves carried off many of the lambs. 
The foolish boy lost his place and found out, when too 
late, that a boy who tells lies, even in fun, may not be 
believed when he tells the truth. 

II. THE LION AND THE FOX 

Once an old Lion was sitting at the door of his den 
when a Rabbit came near. " Good morning, Bunny," 
said the Lion, " come in and see my nice den." " Thank 
you," said Bun, and went in, but he did not come out 
again. Soon a Dog came by. " Come in, friend Doggie," 
said the Lion. " Thank you," said the Dog, and he went 
in, but he did not come out again. By and by a Fox 
came along. " Good morning, Mr. Fox," said the Lion, 
''come in and see me." "No, thank you, sir," said the 
Fox, " I see the footprints of a Rabbit and a Dog going 
in, but I see no footprints pointing out." 

12. THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE 

One day a Hare stood laughing at the slow pace of the 
Tortoise, and boasting how swiftly he could run. The 
Tortoise laughed back cheerfully, " Let us race five 
miles, and let Mr. Fox be the judge, and decide who 
beats." So they got ready, and when the Fox said 
" One, two, three, go ! " off they started. The slow-going 
Tortoise, jogging along, was soon left far behind by the 



70 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

swift-Speeding Hare, who laughed at the fun and said, 
" I might as well take a nap ! " When the Hare awoke 
he looked up and saw the Tortoise almost at the goal. 
Running like the wind he reached the goal a few minutes 
too late, " Oh, oh, my friend," laughed Judge Fox, 
" slow and steady wins the race." 

13. ONE GOOD TRICK 

Once a Cat and a Fox met in the wood. The Fox 
said : " I know a hundred different tricks for getting away 
from hunters' dogs. How many do you know, Puss ? " 
" I know only one," said Puss, " and if that fails me 
I am a dead cat ! " " Poor, poor Pussy," sighed the Fox, 
" I am sorry for you ! " Just then the cries of hunters 
and barking of dogs were heard. The Fox ran off as 
fast as he could, trying this trick and that, but the hunters' 
dogs soon caught him. The Cat simply sprang up to the 
top of a tree. That was her one trick, and she was safe. 
" I see," said Puss, as she saw the Fox carried off, " one 
good trick is better than a thousand poor ones." 

14. THE CONCEITED GRASSHOPPER 

One day a very young Grasshopper and an old Rooster 
met out in a field. " I can jump higher than anybody," 
chirped the Grasshopper. " All right ; let me see you 
do it," said the Rooster, at the same time opening his 
mouth wide as if he meant to yawn. " Here I go, then," 
cried the Grasshopper. He jumped so high he landed 
right in the mouth of the Rooster, who gulped him down. 
That was the end of the boasting Grasshopper. 

15. THE BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT 

Six blind beggars sitting by a roadside as an Elephant 
passed were told that they might touch it so that they 




"those who play and dance all summer must expect to dance 
hungry to bed in winter "' 



would know what an Elephant was like. The first one 
touched only the Elephant's side and said, " He is like a 
wall I " The second one felt only his tusk and said, 
" No, no, he is like a spear." The third took hold of his 
trunk and said, " He is surely like a snake." " No such 
thing," cried the fourth, grasping one of his legs, " he is 
like a tree." The fifth was a tall man and took hold of 
his ear, and said, " All of you are wrong, he is like a 
big fan." The sixth man happened to catch hold of his 
tail, and cried, " O foolish fellows, he is not like a wall, 
nor a spear, nor a snake, nor a tree, nor a fan; he is 
exactly like a rope." So the Elephant passed on while the 
six blind men stood there quarreling, each* being sure he 
knew exactly how the Elephant looked, and each calling 
the others hard names because the rest did not agree with 
him. 

l6. THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER 

One warm summer day an Ant was busy gathering 
food and laying it up for winter. A foolish little Grass- 
hopper who saw him said : " Oh, you poor slave, why do 
you work so hard? See how I play and enjoy myself! 
Play and sing with me." "No, no," replied the Ant; 
"if I play now, what shall I have ready for winter?" 
" Oh, it isn't winter yet," said the idle long-legs, as he 
hopped off again to play. At last the cold, bitter winter 
came. Then the Grasshopper went to the Ant to beg 
for some food to keep from starving, but the Ant said, 
" Those who play and dance all summer must expect to 
dance hungry to bed in winter." 



17, THE FOX WITHOUT A TAIL 

Once a Fox went trot, trot, trot, toward a hen-roost 
to catch a hen. But the farmer had set a trap in which 



"^2 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

Mr. Fox caught his long, bushy tail, and it came right off. 
As he trotted back home, ashamed to be seen without his 
tail, he said : " I know what I will do ; I will tell the 
foxes tails are ugly and useless. Let us cut them off." 
So he called all the foxes in council, but he took good 
care to hold his back against a tree, so they could not 
see that he did not have a tail. While he was making 
his speech, urging them to cut off their tails, one little 
fox peeped behind the tree and cried, " Oh ! Oh ! he has 
lost his tail ! " Then another fox gave him a push, and 
as he ran off in shame, all the foxes laughed, " That is 
why he wanted us to cut off our tails." 

l8. THE BOY AND THE ECHO 

" Hurrah ! Hurrah ! " shouted a boy in the woods one 
day. " Hurrah ! Hurrah ! " some one shouted back. He 
thought it must be another boy in the woods, and started 
off to find him, but no other boy was to be seen anywhere. 
" Where are you ? " he called out. " Where are you ? " 
came back at once. " You are mocking me ! " he cried, 
" You are mocking me," came again the voice. " You 
are a goose," the boy cried, becoming angry. " You are 
a goose," came back the same voice. The boy began to 
cry, and ran home to tell his mother that a bad boy hiding 
in the woods called him bad names. " Did he speak first 
or you?" his mother asked. When he explained it all, 
his mother said : " There was only one boy there, and you 
were that boy, and what you heard was your echo. If 
you had spoken kind words, only kind words would have 
come back to you." 

\J 19. THE CAMEL IN THE TENT 

One cold night an Arab sat in his tent, and his Camel 
asked if he might put his nose inside the tent to keep it 



FABLES 73 

warm. " Yes," said the kind-hearted man. Soon the 
Camel said, " Please let me put my neck inside," which his 
master permitted. " It will take no more room if I put 
my two front feet inside too, will it?" pleaded the 
Camel. The man moved a little to allow that. " May I 
please put my hump in too ? " begged the Camel. Then, 
as soon as his hump was in, the Camel walked in al- 
together. The Arab began to complain, but the Camel 
said, " If you do not like this small space, you can go 
outside yourself." Then he gave the Arab a push that 
landed him right out of his tent and stayed inside all by 
himself. That was the Arab's reward for allowing the 
Camel to put his nose inside the tent. 

20. THE MONKEY AND THE CATS 

Two Cats who had stolen a large piece of cheese were 
quarreling over dividing it. At last they decided to refer 
the matter to a Monkey, who took a pair of scales and, 
breaking the cheese into two pieces, placed a piece in 
each scale. " Let me see," he said, taking out the heavier 
piece, " this piece weighs more than the other." Then 
he bit off quite a piece and put it back on the scale, and, 
of course, it was lighter than the other piece. So he took 
a mouthful from that side, and continued taking from 
first one side and then the other, until the Cats cried, 
" Hold ! Hold ! Give us the two pieces and we will be 
satisfied." " Not so fast," replied the Monkey, " justice 
must be given," and he continued to nibble one piece 
after another. The Cats saw their cheese was almost gone 
and begged for what was left. " No, no, my friends," 
said the Monkey, " what remains belongs to me for my 
pay ! " So he crammed the rest into his mouth and 
munched it in hearty enjoyment as he solemnly dismissed 
the court. 



74 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

21. THE LION AND THE MOUSE 

One day a Lion was lying fast asleep in a thick wood, 
when a little Mouse, playing " hide-and-seek," ran over 
the Lion's nose and awakened him. As quick as a flash 
the Lion caught the Mouse under his paw. " O Lion, 
do not eat me, please," begged the Mouse, " I am such 
a little thing. I could not make you a mouthful. Let me 
go and some day I will do something to help you." This 
made the Lion laugh, but he let the Mouse scamper oflf. 
Later on this good Lion was caught in a net and roared 
in distress. The Mouse heard him and ran up and said, 
" Now, Mr. Lion, I will do something to help you." 
" How can you ? " roared the Lion. Quickly the Mouse 
began to gnaw the net with his sharp little teeth. It 
took a long time, but at last the Lion was free. The 
Mouse laughed as he scampered away again, saying, 
*' Little friends may help as much as great friends. I 
did help you after all, you see ! " 

22. THE LARKS IN THE WHEAT-FIELD 

Once a Lark and her little ones lived together in a 
nest in a field of ripened wheat. The mother bird was 
afraid the reapers might come before the young larks 
could fly. So every morning when she went for food she 
told them to listen carefully to all they heard and tell 
her when she returned. On the first evening they said, 
" We heard the farmer tell his son to ask the neighbors to 
help reap the wheat." " Oh, no danger yet," said Mother 
Lark. The next evening they said, " We heard the 
farmer tell his son to ask his uncle and cousins to help 
reap the wheat." " Oh, no danger yet ! " said the mother. 
On the third evening they said, " To-day we heard the 
farmer say to his son, * To-morrow we will reap the 
wheat ourselves ! ' " " Then," cried the mother, " we 



FABLES 75 

must fly away at once, for the wheat is sure to be cut 
now. When a man makes up his mind to do a thing 
himself, it is more Hkely to be done." She took her 
young ones away at once, and the next day the wheat 
was reaped by the* farmer and his son. 

23. THE MILLER AND HIS DONKEY 

Once an old Miller and his son were walking along a 
country road behind their Donkey, which they were dri- 
ving to town to sell. On the way they met some girls 
who said, " Look ! What stupid people to walk instead 
of riding." Wishing to please them the old Miller 
put his son on the Donkey and walked along by their 
side. Soon they came to some men who shouted : " Look ; 
what a lazy lout! Are you not ashamed to ride, while 
your poor old father walks ? " Wishing to please them 
the Miller told his son to get down while he mounted 
and rode. Not long after they met some women who 
cried, " Look, what a shame for that selfish old father 
to ride while his son walks ! " So the father, wishing 
again to please, took up his son behind him. They had 
not gone far when they met a man who said, " Look at 
that shameful sight ! Why, those two strong fellows are 
better able to carry that poor beast than he is to carry 
them." Wishing to please him the Miller and his son got 
down, tied the Donkey's legs together between a long pole, 
shouldered the load, and began carrying the Donkey in 
this way along the road. When they came to the town 
bridge they met a crowd of people who shouted with such 
laughter and jeers at this funny sight of seeing them car- 
rying a Donkey, that the frightened animal kicked himself 
loose, and fell over the bridge into the river and was 
drowned. The Miller said to his son, " By trying to please 
everybody we have pleased nobody and lost our Donkey." 



76 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

24. THE PERSIAN AND HIS SONS 

Once there was a Persian Ruler, who lived in a great 
palace with his three sons. The father had a beautiful 
pearl which he decided to give to the son which showed 
himself the noblest. He called the three boys before him 
and asked each to tell the noblest deed he had performed 
in the last month. The eldest said : " Father, as I was 
traveling in a foreign land, a merchant trusted me with 
many valuable jewels, and he did not count them. I 
might easily have kept one or two and they would not 
have been missed, but I carried those jewels and delivered 
them all as safely as though they had been my own." 
" My son," said the father, " you were honest, and did a 
noble deed ! " 

" Father," said the second son, " as I was walking in 
the country the other day, I saw a child playing by a lake, 
and while I watched, the child fell in and I saved the 
child." " You have done your duty," said the father, 
" and you too have done a noble deed." 

" Father," said the third boy, " as I crossed over the 
mountain the other day, I saw a man who had done me 
a great wrong, sleeping near the edge of a dangerous 
precipice. I would have walked by without a word, only 
something within me called me to go back and awake 
him lest he fall over the precipice and be killed. I did 
this, knowing all the time that the man would not under- 
stand, and that he would be angry with me, as, indeed, 
he was." 

" My son," cried the father, " your deed was the 
noblest. To do good to an enemy without hope of re- 
ward is indeed the noblest of all. The pearl is yours ! " 



Ill 

FOLK-TALES 
(Adapted for Children, Six to Twelve Years.) 

I. WHY THE BEAR HAS A STUMPY TAIL 

ONE day a Bear met a Fox, who was slinking along 
with a string of fish he had stolen. " Where did 
you get those nice fish? " said the Bear. *' That's telling," 
laughed the Fox ; " but if you want to get some, go out 
on the ice, cut a hole in it, and stick your tail down in the 
hole and hold your tail there until you feel a bite. The 
longer you hold your tail in the hole the more fish you 
will get. Then all at once pull your tail out sidewise with 
a strong jerk," The Bear went down to the ice and held 
his tail a long, long time in the hole until it was frozen 
fast in. Then he jerked it out with a side pull, and his 
tail snapped short off. And people used to think that is 
why the Bear has a stumpy tail. 

2. WHY THE robin's BREAST IS RED 

Far, far away to the North, in the bitter winter, a 
hunter and his little son sat down beside their fire, watch- 
ing it day and night. They knew well that unless it was 
kept burning the people would freeze and the Bear would 
have the Northland all to himself. But one night when 
the father was ill and the boy was so tired that he fell 
fast asleep, the Bear stole up quietly and poked the fire 
with his big, wet paws. Thinking the fire was out, he 
went quickly away to his cave. But as soon as the Bear 

77 



78 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

was gone, a little gray Robin jflew down and fanned a 
tiny blue spark into a flame with her wings. As she did 
this, the little Robin's breast was burned red. But wher- 
ever she flew after that, over all the woods, a fire began 
to burn, and the whole Northland became full of fires, 
and so the Bear did not have all the North country to 
himself. For a thousand years the people of the North 
have had a great love for the Robin. And they tell their 
children this story why the Robin's breast became red. — 
Adapted from Coates' " Nature Myths and Stories." 

3. THE MAN IN THE MOON 

" Go out into the forest and gather sticks for the fire," 
said the wood-cutter's wife to her husband. *' To-mor- 
row will be Sunday, and we have no wood to burn." 
" Yes," he said, " I will go." He went to the forest, but 
instead of getting the fire-wood, he sat by the bank of a 
stream and fished all day, and late at night went home 
without any wood. His wife was already asleep and did 
not know what he had done. Early the next morning he 
crept out to the forest, intending to bring wood before 
she would be astir. He cut the wood, and began carrying 
the bundle of sticks on his back, when a voice behind him 
said, " Put the wood down." " I can't," he said, " my 
wife cannot cook dinner without it." " You will have no 
dinner to-day," said the voice. " My wife will not know 
I did not bring wood last night," he said. " Put the 
wood down ! It is Sunday, the day when men should 
rest from their work." " Sunday or Monday," said the 
man, " it is all one to me." " Then," said the voice, 
" if you will not keep Sunday on earth, you shall keep 
Monday in the heavens, and you shall carry your wood 
until the Judgment Day." 

The man could not tell how it was, but he felt himself 



FOLK TALES 79 

being lifted up, up, up, sticks and all, till he was in the 
moon. " Here you shall stay," said the voice. On any 
clear night, when you look up at the moon, you can still 
see a great shadow, like an old man with wood on his 
shoulder. 

4. PROMETHEUS, THE GREEK FIRE-GIVER^ 

Long ago the Greek people believed that the world 
was ruled by many gods. They thought Jupiter was the 
father, with many powerful children. One of these was 
Prometheus, meaning " Forethought." This god had a 
kind heart, and longed to help the poor and unhappy men 
of earth who lived in caves and holes in the rocks, hungry 
and cold. They ate their food raw, like the beasts. They 
had no tools, nor comforts. Prometheus said : " Poor 
man, how I pity him ! If he only had fire, then he would 
be happy. Yes, man shall have fire, even if Jupiter kills 
me." So one dark night he set out for Mount Olympus, 
the abode of the gods, stole a lighted brand, hid it in his 
bosom, and brought it down to man. " See the gift I 
bring you ! " he cried. It was midwinter. Snows were 
deep on the ground. Ice covered the rivers. Men were 
shivering in the cold and little children were freezing. 
Prometheus laid wood together and touched it with his 
firebrand, and lo ! the first fire on earth was started ! Blue 
fingers were spread out to the wonderful warmth. Pinched 
faces smiled in the golden glow. " Summer is come 
again ! " they shouted. They called Prometheus, the 
helper of man. But he became their teacher too. He 
showed them how to cook their food, make tools, and dig 
metals from the earth, and soon man was warm and 
happy and busy. One day Jupiter looked down from his 
high throne on the topmost peak of Mount Olympus and 

1 This and the following two myths are adapted from " The First Book of Stories 
for the Story Teller," by Fanny E. Coe, pp. 170-180. 



8o WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

saw the fire-theft. In fearful anger he ordered his son, 
Vulcan, the blacksmith of the gods, to seize Prome- 
theus, carry him away to the Caucasian Mountains, chain 
him fast to a huge rock, where a great vulture tore out his 
liver. There Prometheus suffered for ages; but gener- 
ation after generation of men lived on earth, and died, 
blessing him for the gift he had brought to them. After 
many centuries of woe, Hercules found Prometheus, 
killed the vulture, broke the chain, and set free the suffer- 
ing god, who said, " I am glad man has the fire-gift ! " 
And the sight of man warming himself beside it and 
using it comforted him. 



5. PHAETHON S WONDERFUL RIDE 

The Greeks believed that Apollo was the god of music 
and of hunting, and also of the sun. Every day, they 
thought, he rode through the sky in his golden chariot, 
drawn by fiery horses. One day Phaethon, meaning " the 
Bright and Shining One," his son, said, " Father, let me 
drive your chariot for one day." " My son," said Apollo, 
" I cannot grant your request ! 'Tis a mischief, not a 
gift, you ask. The road is steep and the four fiery steeds 
untamed. You would grow dizzy and fall and set the 
world on fire." But Phaethon pleaded and, because he 
had promised, at last Apollo ordered the Hours to harness 
the horses and fling wide open the palace-gates. Phaethon 
took the reins and the whip in his hands. " My son,", 
said Apollo, " be sure to watch the horses with the great- 
est care, and do not use the whip." At first Phaethon re- 
membered his father's words and he enjoyed his ride; 
but soon he became reckless and drove faster and faster 
until he lost his way. In trying to find it again he drove 
so near the earth that immediately trees shriveled, har- 
vests withered, fountains dried up, cities were burned to 



FOLK TALES 8 1 

ashes, and even the people of the land over which he was 
passing were burned black — which color the Negroes 
have to this day. This frightened Phaethon so much that 
he whipped up his horses, and drove them so far away 
that the earth turned to a sudden cold. The cries of the 
suffering people rose in chorus to Jupiter, who awoke 
from his deep sleep, and at once hurled his deadliest 
thunderbolt straight at the foolhardy Phaethon. In a mo- 
ment the dead boy fell like a shooting star into the waters 
of a deep river. His intimate friend, Cycnus, continually 
plunged into the river in hope of finding all the scattered 
pieces of his body, until the gods changed him into a 
swan. And that is the reason, the Greeks thought, why 
the swan is ever mournfully sailing about, and often 
plunging his head into the water to continue his sad 
search for Phaethon. 

6. THE STORY OF THE SUNFLOWER 

Clytie was a water-nymph who lived in a cave at the 

bottom of the sea. She had never seen the earth or sky or 
stars or sun or light of day, in her dark home, deep in 
the sea. One morning she floated up so far that she 
reached the surface and swam to the beautiful green 
shore. Shaking the water out of her waving yellow 
hair, she sat and watched a golden ball which was arising 
out of the east. It was the sun. With wonder and de- 
light her eyes followed him as he mounted higher and 
higher. It became noon, but Clytie never stirred. She 
scarcely seemed to breathe. Soon the sun sank lower and 
lower toward the west, and Clytie's eyes still followed 
him with love. Then the sun sank from sight. Clytie 
fell upon her face in sorrow, crying, " Oh, the miracle ! 
shall I ever see it again? I will not leave this spot. I 
will wait to see if the wonder may not return," So 

F 



82 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

through the long night she watched, and in the white 
light of dawn the great sun burst again in beauty upon 
the waiting eyes of Clytie, who followed him in his 
course, turning her sweet, sad face, east, south, and west 
as the day advanced. This she did day after day, until 
at last the gods, in pity, changed her into the sunflower. 
But the sunflower still follows, with upturned face, the 
daily journey of the sun. 

So the heart that has truly loved never forgets, 

But as truly loves on to the close; 
As the sunflower turns to her god when he sets 

The same look which she turned when he rose. 



7, THE GOLDEN TOUCH 

Once there was a King, named Midas, who loved gold 
better than anything else in the world. Every day he 
went down into a dark room in his castle to play with his 
piles of gold, and to see them shine. One morning, be- 
fore he arose from his bed, he sighed : " I wish I had the 
whole world for my treasure-room, and that it was full 
of gold all my own, then I would be very happy ! " 
Just then a voice said, " Midas, you are a very rich man. 
You ought to be the happiest man in the world." " I 
am not," said the King; " but I would be if everything I 
touched would turn to gold." " Are you sure you would 
not be sorry you made such a choice ? " said the voice. 
" How could I be sorry ? I would be the happiest man 
in the world ! " " Very well, then," said the voice, *' you 
shall have the Golden Touch." Just then a little sun- 
beam came through the window shining on his bed. He 
put out his hand and touched the coverlet, and it was 
turned to gold. He sprang from his bed and ran about 
the room, turning everything to gold. Then he dressed 
himself and was delighted to find his clothes became 



FOLK TALES 83 

golden garments, and his spectacles turned to gold. 
Going down-stairs he went out into the garden, and kept 
plucking roses which changed into beautiful, shining gold. 
Even the dewdrops became little nuggets of gold. Then 
he went back into the house to breakfast, and had great 
fun changing his daughter's bread and milk bowl into 
gold. Just then his daughter, Marygold, came into the 
room crying, " Oh, my beautiful roses are all ugly and 
yellow and without any fragrance." " Don't cry," said 
her father ; " let us eat." But as soon as he touched his 
breakfast, the baked potatoes, fish, and cakes all became 
gold. He raised the cup of coffee to his lips. That 
too turned to gold, and of course he could not drink it. 
He looked at Marygold who was quietly eating her bread 
and milk. How he longed to have just one taste. Seeing 
her father's sad face, Marygold ran to him, but as soon 
as he took her in his arms and kissed her she too became 
hard, shining gold, and even her tears were little nuggets 
of gold. Poor, unhappy King! His heart was sad. He 
threw himself on the floor and tried to pray, but the words 
would not come. All at once the room grew bright, and 
a voice said, " How do you like the Golden Touch? " " I 
hate the very name of gold ! " cried the King. " I would 
give all I have just to see my daughter smile again." 
" Then," said the voice, " take a pitcher, go to the river, 
jump in head first and fill the pitcher with water; then 
sprinkle a few drops of it on everything you have changed 
to gold. Everything will become as before." The King 
quickly did all the voice said. The first thing he did 
with the water was to sprinkle Marygold, who at once 
opened her eyes in life again. Then he went into the 
garden and changed the roses back to their natural beauty 
and fragrance. Nor did he stop until he had sprinkled 
water on everything he had changed to gold. Then he 
ate his breakfast with great joy. Only two things were 



84 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

left to remind him of the Golden Touch — the sand in 
the river and Marygold's hair. As this made her more 
beautiful, Midas said that was the only gold he cared 
for after that. — Adapted from Hazvthorne's " Tangle- 
wood Tales." 

8. SAINT GEORGE AND THE DRAGON 

Once upon a time in the early days of the Christians, 
in the reign of the Emperor Diocletian, there was born 
in the province of Cappadocia, in Asia Minor, a beautiful 
baby boy, named George, who grew up to be a brave 
soldier and knight. Once when he was on a pilgrimage 
to the Holy Land he came to a town in the country of 
Libya where the people were living in great terror be- 
cause a great dragon, with poisonous breath, had his 
home in a marsh outside the city walls. The monster had 
devoured their sheep and oxen, and the people were 
forced to shut themselves close inside their city and send 
out each day a sheep to satisfy the hunger of this dread- 
ful dragon. At last not one sheep was left. Then the 
King ordered that each day two children, chosen by lot, 
should be sent out to the dragon. The people obeyed the 
King's order and from day to day arose the bitter cries 
of parents upon whose children the cruel lot had fallen. 
But one morning the lot fell upon Cleodolinda, the beau- 
tiful fifteen-year-old daughter of the King. He was in 
despair, for he loved his little daughter most tenderly. 
He offered all the gold in the treasury and half his king- 
dom if she should be spared. But the parents who had 
been obliged to sacrifice their children insisted that the 
King's daughter should be given to the dragon, and 
threatened to burn the King in his palace if he did not 
send her forth at once. The King pleaded for eight days 
longer to bid farewell to her. Then he sent her forth 
weeping, and arrayed in her royal robes, to die for her 



FOLK TALES 85 

people. Walking timidly toward the terrible monster's 
den, along the path strewn thick with the bleaching bones 
of her former playmates, she suddenly heard the sound 
of hurrying horse's hoofs. She looked up, and there 
was a beautiful young knight in armor, on a milk-white 
horse, coming toward her with a gleaming spear, ready 
to do battle with any enemy that might cross his path. 
She cried, " Fly ! fly for your life, Sir Knight ! " But 
when he had heard her sad story, he said : " God forbid 
that I should fly! I will destroy this monster, your 
enemy, and deliver you through the power that lives in 
all true followers of Christ." Just then the dragon came 
forth, half flying and half crawling toward them, clash- 
ing his bronze scales with horrid noise. Cleodolinda again 
begged the knight to fly and leave her to her fate. But 
Saint George made the sign of the cross and rushed upon 
the monster. The struggle was fierce and long, for it 
was hard to strike through the dragon's bronze scales. 
But at last, with a blow like that of three strong men. 
Saint George pinned the dragon to the earth with his 
lance. Cleodolinda did not run away but, " with folded 
hands and knees full truly bent," the brave girl stood 
near her champion, who said : " Touch him and see how 
tame he is. See, even his poisonous breath is gone. It is 
the power of good over evil." Then he took the girl's rich 
girdle, bound it round the great dragon, and gave one 
end to her, telling her to lead the dragon into the city. 
So the girl who had obediently gone out to the dragon 
expecting him to devour her, obediently led the power- 
less creature over the fields he had laid waste and over 
the bleaching bones of the children he had devoured, and 
the meek monster followed her like a lamb toward the 
walls of the city where the people were gathered in ter- 
ror. Saint George called out : " Fear not, only believe in 
the Christ through whose might I have overpowered your 



6b WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

enemy, and I will destroy the dragon before your eyes." 
Then he took his sword and smote off the dragon's head, 
and all the people hailed him as their deliverer. But 
Saint George bade them give God the praise. He 
preached to them so earnestly that the King and princess 
and all the people became Christians. He would not take 
the gold the King offered him, but ordered that it be dis- 
tributed among the poor. Then he bade them all adieu 
and rode away to do in other lands like noble deeds of 
loving service. So this champion of the weak became the 
patron saint of merry England, and only the bravest 
knight or soldier may wear the cross and be called a 
Knight of Saint George. 

9. SAINT PATRICK AND THE SNAKES 

If you should ever sail across the ocean to Ireland, and 
travel on that Emerald Isle, you would be sure to hear 
many interesting stories about the good missionary. Saint 
Patrick. One story which was told many years ago by 
an old monk named Jocelin, is this : 

Long, long ago, when Ireland was called Erin, and 
before Saint Patrick came to the island, the people were 
troubled with a plague of demons and reptiles. Patrick 
was the son of a Christian magistrate who lived in Eng- 
land. In the year A. D. 411, when Patrick was fifteen, 
some wild Irish raiders stole him and sold him as a slave 
in Ireland, where he remained in slavery for six years 
tending pigs upon the mountains. When this Christian 
boy, Patrick, made his escape to France, he resolved to 
return to Ireland and devote himself as a missionary to 
the conversion of the people. When he returned to 
Ireland to enter upon his mission, he found the country 
stricken because of the demons and reptiles. By means of 
a wondrous staff which he stretched toward heaven, and 



FOLK TALES 8/ 

a holy bell, Fuin Foya, which when he rang was heard 
throughout Erin, he drove away the demons with howls 
of rage. Then, as he went about the land preaching and 
doing good to all the people, he found them still suffering 
with the plague of snakes and toads, which ugly reptiles 
he drove westward until they reached a high rock, when, 
with a hissing sound, they turned upon Saint Patrick 
and tried to poison him. But the saint was armed with 
his melodious bell, which had been given by the angels, 
and of all sounds in the world the ringing of a heavenly 
bell is most terrible to a reptile, and the silvery tones of 
this bell frightened the snakes and toads more than all the 
bells of the land ringing together. When Saint Patrick 
saw these wicked serpents making ready to sting him, 
and saw they all no longer obeyed his commands and his 
threats, he uncovered the bell and the moment they heard 
the first tinkle they rushed forward in a body to scramble 
up the side of the hill and away from the sound they 
hated. As soon as they reached the top they began to 
sway to and fro in their fright, for there, far beneath the 
dark rocks, lay the blue waters of the ocean. But they 
could not wait there long, for as soon as Saint Patrick 
came to the summit, he made a sign for them to come 
near him, and, creeping and crawling, they cowered at 
his feet, waiting to hear their doom. The good Saint 
Patrick stood over them and, lifting his staff in his hand, 
he pointed out far over the sea. " Forward, every one 
into the sea ! " he commanded, " and henceforth this 
blessed Isle of Erin shall be free forever from your power 
of evil ! " They lay at his feet hissing and writhing in 
agony, but Saint Patrick began to uncover his bell, Fuin 
Foya. As soon as they saw that, the reptiles rushed and 
tumbled down, down over the steep rocks. So, hissing 
and howling, they plunged into the sea and disappeared 
under the waves. 



88 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

lO. THE COYOTE AND THE INDIAN FIRE-BRINGER 

One cold winter's day, long, long ago, when the Coyote 
was the friend and the counselor of the Indian, a Boy of 
one of the tribes was ranging through a mountain forest 
with a big, gray Coyote. The poor Indians ran naked in 
the snow or huddled in caves in the rocks, and were suf- 
fering terribly in the cold. The Boy said, " I am sorry 
for the misery of my people." " I do not feel the cold," 
said the Coyote. " You have a coat of fur," said the Boy, 
" and my people have not. I will hunt with you no more 
until I have found a way to make my people warm in the 
winter's cold. Help me, O counselor." The Coyote ran 
away, and when he came back, after a long time, he said, 
" I have a way, but it's a hard way." " No way is too 
hard," said the Boy. So the Coyote told him they must 
go to the Burning Mountain to bring fire to the people. 
" What is fire ? " asked the Boy. " Fire is red like a flower, 
yet not a flower; swift to run in the grass and destroy, 
like a beast, yet not a beast; fierce and beautiful, yet a 
good servant to keep one warm, if kept among stones 
and fed with sticks." 

" We will get the fire," said the Boy. So the Boy and 
the Coyote started off with one hundred swift runners 
for the far-away Burning Mountain. At the end of the 
first day's trail they left the weakest of the runners to 
wait; at the end of the second day the next stronger, 
and so for each of the hundred days; and the Boy was 
the strongest runner and went to the last trail with the 
Coyote. At last the two stood at the foot of the Burning 
Mountain, from which smoke rolled out. Then the 
Coyote said to the Boy, " Stay here till I bring you a 
brand from the burning. Be ready for running, for I 
shall be faint when I reach you, and the Fire-spirits will 
pursue me." Up the mountainside he went. He looked 



FOLK TALES 89 

SO slinking and so small and so mean, the Fire-spirits 
laughed at him. But in the night, as the Fire-spirits were 
dancing about the mountain, the Coyote stole the fire and 
ran with it fast away from the Fire-spirits who, red and 
angry, gave chase after him, but could not overtake him. 
The Boy saw him coming, like a falling star against the 
mountain, with the fire in his mouth, the sparks of which 
streamed out along his sides. As soon as the Coyote got 
near, the Boy took the brand from his jaws and was off, 
like an arrow from a bent bow, till he reached the next 
runner, who stood with his head bent for running. To 
him he passed it, and he was off and away, and the spite- 
ful Fire-spirits were hot in chase. So the brand passed 
from hand to hand and the Fire-spirits tore after each 
runner through the country, but they came to the moun- 
tains of the snows ahead and could not pass. Then the 
swift runners, one after the other bore it forward, shining 
starlight in the night, glowing red in the sultry noons, 
pale in the twilight, until they came safely to their own 
land. There they kept the fire among the stones and 
fed it with sticks, as the Coyote had said, and it kept the 
people warm. 

Ever after, the Boy was called the Fire-bringer, and 
the Indians said the Coyote still bears the mark of fire, 
because his flanks are singed and yellow from the flames 
that streamed backward from the firebrand that night 
in the long ago. — Adapted from " The Basket Woman," 
by Mary Antrim. 



IV 

FAVORITES 
(Adapted for Children, Six to Twelve Years.) 

I. THE UGLY DUCKLING 

ONCE upon a time a Duck was sitting all alone on 
her nest watching for her young ducklings to hatch. 
All at once the eggs seemed alive. " Peep ! Peep ! " and 
one little fluffy yellow head after another looked out. 
" Quack ! Quack ! " said the Duck, and all the ducklings 
quacked too, as well as they could. But one egg still 
remained unhatched, and it was the largest egg of all. 
" I must sit on it a little longer," said Mother Duck 
very tenderly. This she did until at last the large egg 
cracked and out tumbled a large, ugly, gray Duckling. 
He seemed so different from the others that the mother 
thought sure that he must be a turkey, until she saw him 
swim in the water, just as well as her other children. 
But he was not so pretty as the others, and the poor, ugly 
Duckling was bitten and pecked and chased and kicked 
about and made fun of by all, and even his own brothers 
and sisters were unkind to him. At last he could bear 
it no longer, and he ran away, going on and on until he 
came to a swamp where the wild geese lived. " Bang! 
Bang ! " went a gun in the morning, and two of the geese 
fell dead. In a moment more a large, terrible dog ran 
up. He put his nose close to the Duckling, showing his 
sharp teeth, and then " Splash ! Splash ! " he went out of 
the water without touching him. " I am so ugly a dog 
will not bite me," the poor bird said, lying still until the 
90 



FAVORITES 91 

gun Stopped shooting. In the evening he flew away from 
the swamp and came to a hut where an old woman Uved 
with a cat and a hen. These made so much fun of him 
because he was so ugly that he flew away from them 
and was very lonely and sad among the rushes all the 
long, cold winter until the spring came. Then one morn- 
ing he flew on and on until he came to a large, beautiful 
garden where he saw three white swans moving on the 
smooth water. " I will fly to them," he said. As soon as 
they saw him they swam toward him and began to stroke 
his neck with their beaks. Just then he looked down into 
the clear water, and was surprised at his own image. He 
saw himself no longer a dark, gray, ugly duckling, but a 
beautiful snow-white swan like the others. Little children 
running about the garden came up to throw bread and 
cake into the water. " Oh, see ! " cried one of the chil- 
dren. " There is a new one ! The new one is the pretti- 
est ! " The Swan was so happy he did not know what to 
do. He was not at all proud, but he shook his beautiful 
feathers, stretched his graceful, slender neck, and said: 
*' Now, when people see me they will be glad ! I never 
dreamed of such happiness when I was an ugly duck- 
ling ! " — Adapted from Hans Christian Andersen. 

2. THE KING OF THE GOLDEN RIVER 

Once there were three brothers, Hans, Swartz, and 
Gluck, the youngest. These three brothers owned a rich 
farm in a valley far up on the mountainside. The apples 
that grew there were so red, the corn so yellow, the 
grapes so blue, and everything was so fertile that it was 
called " Treasure Valley." On the very top of the moun- 
tain a river shone so bright and golden when lighted by 
the rays of the setting sun that people called it the 
" Golden River," but its waters flowed down on the other 



92 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

side of the mountain. The two older brothers were so 
selfish and cruel that they were called the " Black 
Brothers." They beat their brother Gluck so cruelly one 
day for being kind to some one that the West Wind 
punished them by blowing, blowing, blowing so hard that 
everything became dry and the valley became a desert. 
Then the three brothers went to live in the town, and the 
two oldest went from bad to worse, until one day they 
said, " We have nothing left in the world but Gluck's 
Golden Pitcher." This pitcher was a gift from his uncle, 
which Gluck highly prized, but the cruel brothers ordered 
him, while they were away, to put it into the melting-pot 
and make it into gold spoons that they might secure 
money to support them. While the melting-pot with the 
gold pitcher in it was warming over the hot fire, Gluck 
looked out of the window and saw the sun reflecting its 
yellow glow in the Golden River, far up on the mountain 
crest. He sighed, " How fine it would be if only that 
river were really gold. We wouldn't be poor then ! " 
" It wouldn't be fine at all," said a thin little voice from 
the melting-pot. '' Pour me out ! Pour me out ! I'm 
too hot," continued the thin little voice. It was the King 
of the Golden River, a queer little dwarf, who peeped 
out of the melting-pot and said : " Whoever climbs to the 
top of the mountain where the Golden River begins, and 
pours in three drops of holy water, shall find the river 
turned into gold. But whoever fails at the first trial 
can have no other, and will be changed into a big black 
boulder." With these words the King of the Golden 
River vanished up the chimney. Just then the two 
brothers knocked at the door and came in, and when 
they saw the golden pitcher all melted away and vanished 
in smoke up the chimney, they beat poor Gluck black and 
blue for his carelessness. When Gluck told them what 
the King of the Golden River had said, at first they would 



FAVORITES 93 

not believe him, and then they quarreled so terribly over 
which should be the first to go, that a policeman came and 
Swartz was thrown into prison. Then Hans said, " I 
will be the first to get the gold." He took a bottle of 
water and climbed up, up, up the mountainside until he 
met a dog so thirsty that his tongue hung from his mouth. 
Hans gave the dog a kick and passed on until he met a 
little child, who said, " I'm so thirsty." But Hans gave 
the child a slap and passed on until he met a queer little 
old man, who cried, " Water ! Water ! I'm dying for 
water ! " Hans spoke bad words and passed on, drinking 
up all the water himself. So when he came to the source 
of the Golden River he found that all his water was 
gone, and he did not have even three drops to put into 
the river. Then, in a rage, he threw the empty bottle into 
the stream, and immediately there was great thunder and 
lightning, and Hans was changed into a big black 
boulder. 

When Hans did not return, Gluck went to work in a 
goldsmith's shop to earn money enough to get Swartz out 
of prison. As soon as he was released he said, " Now I 
will try to get the gold." So Swartz took a bottle of 
water and climbed up, up, up the mountainside, passing 
the poor, thirsty dog, the little child, and the queer little 
old man dying of thirst, without so much as sharing one 
drop of water with them. When he came to the source 
of the Golden River he found that all his water was 
gone and he did not have even three drops to pour into 
the river. Then, in a rage, he threw the empty bottle into 
the stream, and immediately there was great thunder 
and lightning, and Swartz was changed into a big black 
boulder beside his brother. 

Gluck waited long for his brothers to return, but when 
they did not come he took a bottle of water and started 
to climb up, up, up the mountainside until he came 



94 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

to the poor thirsty dog, and the Httle child, and then the 
queer little old man, with each of whom Gluck kindly 
shared the water from his bottle, and when he reached 
the top of the mountain he found he had plenty of water 
still in his bottle. So he poured in three drops of his holy 
water into the heart of the river, but, to his surprise, he 
found that the river did not change into gold. The water 
began to flow down the other side of the mountain toward 
Treasure Valley. He was disappointed and sad. Then 
the King of the Golden River appeared again and said, 
" Follow the stream ! " Then he noticed, as he went 
down the mountainside, that everywhere the river flowed 
flowers and vines and fruit trees blossomed, and soon all 
Treasure Valley was one rich, beautiful garden again. 
Then he saw that the river was indeed, as the King had 
said, a River of Gold. After that Gluck lived in a beau- 
tiful home in Treasure Valley. His apples were red, his 
corn was yellow, his grapes were blue, and everything 
became prosperous again. But the hungry and thirsty 
were never once sent empty away. — Adapted from John 
Ruskin. 

3. THE CLOUD 

One hot summer morning a little Cloud rose out of the 
sea and floated happily across the blue sky. Far below 
lay the earth, brown and dry and desolate from drought. 
The little Cloud could see the poor earth-people working 
and suffering in the heat, while she floated here and there 
in the sky without a care. " Oh, if I could only help 
those people," said the Cloud. " If I could make their 
work easier and give the hungry ones food and the 
thirsty ones drink ! Yes, I will help, I will ! " And she 
began to sink softly down to the earth. As she sank 
lower she remembered when she was a tiny cloud-child 
in the lap of Mother Ocean she was told that if the 



FAVORITES 95 

clouds went too near the earth they would die. Thinking 
of that she held herself from sinking and swayed herself 
here and there in the breeze. Then she said, " Men of 
earth, come what may, I will help. I will." All at once 
she became so large and wide-spread that the men of 
earth were afraid ; the trees and the grasses bowed them- 
selves; a wonderful light glowed from her heart; the 
sound of thunder rolled through the sky, and a love 
greater than words can tell filled the Cloud. Down, 
down, close to earth she swept, and gave up her life in a 
heavy shower of rain. That rain was the Cloud's gener- 
ous deed, but it was her death, and it was her glory too. 
Over the whole country round, as far as the rain fell, a 
lovely rainbow spread its arch, and all the brightest rays 
of heaven made its colors. It was the last greeting of a 
love so great as to sacrifice itself. Soon the rainbow 
was gone, but long, long after, the men and women, 
saved by the Cloud, kept her blessing in their hearts.^ — 
^Adapted from "How to Tell Stories to Children," Sara 
Cone Bryant. 

4. THE GREAT STONE FACE 

Far up in the mountains of New England there was a 
great rock in such a position as to resemble the features 
of a human face. There were the broad arch of the fore- 
head, the eyes, the nose, and the lips. So real was it, 
the Great Stone Face seemed to be alive. Happy were 
the children who grew up to manhood or womanhood 
with this Great Stone Face before their eyes, for the fea- 
tures were all so noble and their expression like the glow 
of a great, warm heart, it was an education to look at it. 
There was a belief among the people who lived in the 
valley, that one day a boy would be born who would be- 
come the greatest and noblest man of his times, and 
whose face would exactly resemble the Great Stone Face. 



96 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

After a long time a boy grew up in the valley who learned 
to love the sight of this image. After his day's work 
was done he would gaze up at it until he thought it 
seemed to notice him and give him a smile of kindness 
and encouragement in response to his look of love. Very 
often during those years a rumor arose that the great 
man foretold for ages had at last appeared. A boy who 
had grown up in the valley, had gone away and become a 
millionaire, returned, and people said, " This is he ! " 
But it proved untrue. Then a soldier, and a statesman, 
and a poet arose, and people said, " This is he ! " But it 
was not so. Meanwhile, the boy who quietly day by 
day lived, and labored, and looked up, and loved the 
Great Stone Face grew to manhood, becoming more and 
more like it, until one day everybody saw the resemblance, 
and cried, " This is he ! " And it was. This good boy 
and young man had gradually grown in gentleness and 
goodness and love until his face became as magnetic and 
his influence as helpful in the valley as the Great Stone 
Face. — Adapted from Hawthorne. 

5. TOM, THE CHIMNEY-SWEEP 

{Written by Canon Kingsley for his own little boy.) 

Once there was a chimney-sweep, and his name was 
Tom. He lived in a great city, where there were plenty 
of chimneys to sweep. He never washed himself, he 
never had been taught to say his prayers, he could not 
read or write. One morning Tom and his master, Mr. 
Grimes, started off to sweep some chimneys in the coun- 
try. Mr. Grimes rode the donkey, and Tom, with his 
brushes, walked behind. They overtook a poor old Irish 
woman, trudging along with a bundle on her back. She 
had a shawl on her head and a red dress. She spoke 
kindly to Tom, and they walked along together until 



FAVORITES 97 

they came to a spring. The master jumped from the 
donkey and dipped his head into the water, shaking his 
ears to dry them, Tom said, " Master, I never saw you 
wash before." " Nor will you see me wash again, most 
likely. I did it for coolness, not for cleanliness. I'd be 
ashamed to want washing every week or so like any 
smutty collier-lad." " I wish I might wash," said poor 
little Tom. " Come along," said Grimes. " What do you 
want with washing yourself? " and he began beating the 
poor boy. " Shame on you ! " cried the old woman. 
" They that wish to be clean, clean they will be ; they that 
wish to be dirty, dirty they will be. Remember ! " 

That day Tom swept so many chimneys that he got 
lost, and came down the wrong chimney in one house, 
and found himself standing in a room the like of which 
he had never seen before. There was a wash-stand 
with a basin and soap and brushes and towels. Looking 
toward the bed he held his breath, for there, under the 
snow-white coverlet, was the most beautiful little girl 
Tom had ever seen. " Are all the people like that when 
they are washed ? " he thought. Then he looked at his 
wrists and tried to rub off the soot, and wondered if 
it ever would come off. Looking round he saw standing 
close to him a little, ugly, black, ragged boy with red 
eyes and grinning white teeth. " Who are you ? " he said. 
"What does such a little black monkey want here?" 
But it was himself reflected in the great mirror, the like 
of which also Tom had never seen before. Tom found 
out then, for the first time, that he was dirty. He burst 
into tears and turned to sneak up the chimney again to 
hide himself, but he upset the fender and threw the fire- 
irons down with a great noise. Under the window there 
was a great tree, and Tom went down the tree like a cat 
and across the garden toward the woods. The gardener, 
who was busily engaged in watering the rose-bushes, 

G 



98 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

saw him and gave chase; the milkmaid heard the noise 
and followed too ; and so did the groom and the plowman, 
and the old Irish woman and Mr. Grimes. But Tom ran 
faster than all, and in the woods he was lost from view, 
and all went back again. On the bank of a river Tom 
sat down to rest, and was soon fast asleep and dream- 
ing of the little clean girl and the Irish woman who said, 
" They that wish to be clean, clean they will be." All at 
once he cried out, " I must be clean ! I must be clean ! " 
He awoke and went into the water, where he washed his 
feet, and suddenly he was changed into a Water-baby. 
Hundreds of other Water-babies were there, laughing and 
singing and shouting and romping in the clear, cool water, 
and all dressed in their little bathing-suits, so clean and 
white. The one that had been poor little Tom, the 
chimney-sweep, was the happiest and whitest among 
them all. And he never forgot the old Irish woman 
(who was really Queen of the Water-babies) or what 
she had said : " They that wish to be clean, clean they will 
be; they that wish to be dirty, dirty they will be." — 
Adapted from " The Water-babies." 

6. WHERE LOVE IS, GOD IS 

Once in a little town in Russia there was a lonely old 
cobbler who lived in a cellar. There was always plenty 
of work for him, for he was prompt and honest and 
industrious. But the cobbler was not happy, for it 
seemed to him God had been unkind to him in taking 
away his wife and children by death. But at last a 
good priest came and taught this unhappy cobbler to 
read the New Testament, and then he grew happy and 
contented, and changed in every way. One day as he 
was reading how the Lord was treated when he was on 
earth, he said to himself, " And suppose he came to me, 



FAVORITES 99 

would I treat him differently ? '' " Martin ! " — and a 
Voice seemed close to his ear. " Who's there ? " the cob- 
bler said; but no reply came. "Martin, Martin," said 
the Voice again, " look to-morrow on the street ; I am com- 
ing ! " Next morning Martin waited and waited, but saw 
no stranger come near. An old soldier, whom he knew, 
came into his shop out of the snow, to whom the cobbler 
gave a cup of tea and whom he treated with kindness as 
he told him he was expecting his little Father, Christ. 
Later in the day a poor widow with a little child came^j 
into his shop out of the cold, to whom the cobbler gave 
warm food and a coat and some money, as he told her 
how he was expecting the Lord to come to him that day. 
In the late afternoon the cobbler saw from his cellar 
window a poor apple-woman fighting a boy who had 
stolen some of her apples. The cobbler rushed into the 
street and told the woman she ought to forgive the boy 
as the Lord forgave us. He purchased an apple which 
he gave to the boy, who, touched by the kindness, begged 
the apple-woman's pardon and kindly helped her by 
carrying her heavy basket for her. 

By the evening lamp-light the cobbler opened his New 
Testament and was disappointed because the Christ-guest 
had not come. Then a Voice whispered, " Martin ! Dost 
thou not know me ? " " Who art thou ? " cried the cob- 
bler. " 'Tis I," cried the Voice. " Lo, 'tis I ! " And forth 
from the dark corner of the shop stepped the soldier, 
and then the widow with the little child, and then the 
old apple-woman and the lad with the apple. All smiled 
and vanished. But the heart of the cobbler was glad, 
and he saw at the top of the Gospel page these words : 
" I was an hungered and thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; 
I was a stranger, and ye took me in." And at the bot- 
tom of the page he read : " Inasmuch as ye have done it 
to one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done 



loo WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

it unto me." Then the cobbler saw that the Lord had 
really come to him and he had really received Him that 
day. — Adapted from Count Tolstoy. 

7. THE PIED PIPER 

(Written by Robert Browning, the poet, for the amuse- 
ment of a friend's son who was ill, and to give 
him subjects for drawings.) 

Long ago in a country far away there was a town that 
was troubled with rats. These rats fought the dogs and 
killed the cats and bit the babies in their cradles. They 
ate up all the cheese. Yes, and often a man would find a 
rat's nest in his Sunday hat. The people began to think 
they would have to move out and let the rats have the 
town. At last the Mayor and Council met to see if they 
could think of a way to get rid of them. They had 
almost given up when they heard a rap at the door. 
" Come in," they said ; and there stood a strange, tall, 
thin man, with a queer long coat, half yellow and half 
red, that came down to his heels, and a pipe upon which 
he played. " My friends," said he, " I see you have a 
great many rats in your town. If I can rid you of them, 
will you give me a thousand guilders ? " " Yes, fifty," 
they cried ; " only take away the rats ! " Then Pied Piper 
stepped out into the street and began to blow on his pipe. 
Before he had played three notes, out of the houses the 
rats came tumbling — great rats, small rats, lean rats, 
fat rats, black rats, gray rats, brown rats, all following 
the Piper as if for their very lives. Straight to the river 
he walked, drawing the rats after him. In they plunged 
head first, and were all drowned. How the bells rang 
for joy ! How the people shouted ! The Mayor gave 
orders to poke out all the nests and fill up the holes. 
" First, if you please, my thousand guilders," said the 



FAVORITES lOI 

Piper. The Mayor and Council laughed : " Now the rats 
are dead, they won't come back to life, you know. It 
was only a joke we spoke. We won't give you more than 
fifty guilders." Pied Piper threatened, but the Mayor 
said, " Do your worst. Blow your pipe till you burst." 
Then the Piper stepped into the street again and played 
three notes, and at once all the children of the town came 
running, tripping, skipping, shouting merrily after the 
Piper and his wonderful music. When they reached 
the mountainside a great door suddenly opened and all 
the children went in with the Piper — ^all except one poor 
little lame boy who could not keep up, and came too 
late. And the door was shut. No one ever heard of 
the Piper or the children again. But the Mayor and 
Council agreed that when they owed any one anything 
after that they would pay it. And these words were 
kept in the town where all could see them : " Always keep 
your promise ! ," 

8. DICK WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT 

Once there was a little boy named Dick Whittington, 
whose father and mother died and the people who took 
care of him were very poor. Often he had no breakfast 
or dinner. In the town where he lived Dick often heard 
about London, the great city, where people said nobody 
was ever hungry, nobody had to work, and the streets 
were paved with gold. Dick longed to go there. So one 
day when a big wagon, drawn by eight horses, all with 
bells on their heads, was going to London, Dick went 
along. But he was disappointed to find the streets cov- 
ered with dirt instead of gold, and none would give the 
hungry boy even a crust of dry bread. At night he was 
so cold and tired he sat down on the stone steps of a 
great house and longed to be back in the town where he 



102 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

was born. Next day Dick found some work to do in the 
kitchen of this great house. He would have been happy 
there, but the cook beat him, and the rats and mice in 
the garret where he slept kept him awake at night, often 
running over his face. One day a gentleman gave him a 
penny. Dick bought a cat, which soon drove away all 
the rats and mice, and then the poor boy slept soundly 
every night. 

Dick's master was a rich merchant with great ships 
that he used to fill with all kinds of things to send to 
foreign lands. Whenever a ship was ready to sail it was 
his custom to call together all his servants and ask them 
to send something in the ship to trade for profit. So one 
day when the ship was ready, all the servants had some- 
thing to send, except Dick, who said he had nothing 
in the world but a cat. " Send your cat, my lad," said 
the master ; "' perhaps you will get something of profit for 
her." Dick, with tears in his eyes, carried poor puss 
down to the ship and gave her to the captain. After the 
cat was gone the rats and mice came back and the cook 
treated Dick so cruelly that early one morning he ran 
away. He had not gone very far when he sat down 
on a stone to rest, and listened to the ringing of a merry 
chime of bells, which seemed to him to say : 

Turn again, Whittington ! 
Turn again, Whittington ! 
Thrice Lord Mayor of London! 

" If I am to be Lord Mayor of London," said Dick, 
" I will go back and let the cook scold me as much as 
she pleases." Then Dick turned back and reached the 
kitchen before any one missed him. Some time after that 
the ship came back, and the captain said Dick's cat had 
won him a great fortune, for an African chief had bought 
the cat at a great price to drive away the rats and mice 



FAVORITES 103 

from the dining-table of his palace. Dick was cleaning 
pots in the kitchen when his master called him into his 
office. " Mr. Whittington," he said, " your cat has 
brought you more money than I have in the whole world." 
Dick was too kind to keep all for himself. He gave pres- 
ents to his master's daughter Alice, and to the captain, 
and to the sailors, and even to the cross old cook. When 
he was dressed in a nice suit of clothes he looked as hand- 
some as any young man in London. So Dick Whitting- 
ton, through his cat, became a rich merchant, married 
his master's daughter, and became three times Lord 
Mayor of London. 

9. THE BOY WHO HATED TREES 

One night Dick was told by his father to rise early the 
next morning and help set out some new trees. " I hate 
trees," said Dick, " I want to go fishing. I wish I lived 
in a land where there were no trees ! " Then Dick fell 
asleep, and in his dream he heard the queerest rustling 
noise, and then a voice called out, " Here is a boy who 
hates trees ! " A procession of trees came toward him. 
The willow was weeping; the poplar was trembling; the 
aspen was quaking; the pine and elm and maple and 
oak were followed by the fruit trees, like the apple and 
pear and cherry, while the walnut and birch and palm 
slowly brought up the rear. When all was quiet the Pine 
began : " Here is a boy that hates trees, and says we are 
of no use ! " " Yes," said the Maple, " and this morning 
he ate some of my sugar." " Yes," said the Willow, 
" and he made a whistle out of me." " Yes," said the 
Palm, " and he fanned himself with one of my leaves." 
" And he got his bicycle tire out of me, and his rubber 
boots too," said another tree. The Elm said : " I have 
a plan. The wind will help us. The wind is our friend." 



104 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

So the wind took Dick and hurled him off to a great 
desert and dropped him down in a land where there were 
no trees. Dick felt very lonely and was full of fright 
when he saw a bear coming toward him in the distance, 
and there was no tree to climb. How glad he was that 
he was mistaken and that it was not a bear coming, but 
camels, with men on them. The men beckoned him to 
get up and ride, which he was glad to do. Soon he saw 
the men bowing down and thanking God and then waving 
their hands. Dick looked and saw a spot of green grass, 
a spring of cool water, and one of the things he hated — 
a tree. He thought he had never seen anything so beau- 
tiful in all his life. He tumbled off the camel, ran 
toward the tree, and threw his arms about it, saying, 
" Dear tree, dear tree ! " 

The next morning Dick was glad to help his father 
plant the trees, and the school-teacher on Arbor Day 
said, " I think if good care will help the trees, they will 
get it from Dick." 

10. THE PRINCE WHO HATED SPIDERS AND FLIES 

A young Prince in a rage once said, " I wish all the 
spiders and flies were driven out of the world ! " Not 
long after that he had to hide at the close of a great 
battle in a wood, where he fell asleep under a tree. A 
soldier found him there, and was about to kill him, when 
a fly tickled the Prince's face, which awoke him, and 
made the soldier run away. That same night the Prince 
hid himself in a cave across the mouth of which a spider 
wove a web. Next morning two soldiers seeking him 
were about to enter the cave when they saw the spider's 
web. '* He can't be in there," they said, and passed 
on. So a hated fly and a spider, after all, saved the 
Prince's life! 



FAVORITES 105 

II. TIRED OF BEING A LITTLE GIRL 

" Oh, dear me," sighed a Httle girl one fine morning, 
" I wish I could be something else ! " " What would you 
like to be ? " said a little voice. " I would like to be a 
rosebud," she said. In a moment she felt her skirts 
twisting about her body, and when she touched her pink 
dress it was not calico but rose-leaves. She looked at 
her feet and they had turned green. So she knew she 
was a rosebud, growing on a bush in a garden. The 
wind swung her back and forth. It was so nice to be a 
rosebud. Suddenly a beautiful Fairy bent over and said, 
" I will drink the dew and eat the tender leaves of the 
rosebud for dinner." " Don't, don't," cried the little girl, 
" if you do you will eat my head." The Fairy began to 
laugh. " Please, make me something else, quick," cried 
the little girl ; " make me into a bird." In a minute she 
was a real, live bird hopping around among the daisies. 
" This is great fun," she cried, " but I begin to feel 
hungry." " Do you? " said a little voice; " then I'll feed 
you." In front of her stood the ugliest little man, hold- 
ing in his hand a slimy worm, which he wanted to put 
into her mouth. She screamed out, " I won't eat that 

worm! I'm not a real bird! I'm a — I'm a " Just 

then she awoke and found she had been dreaming under 
the apple tree. Then she ran as fast as she could into the 
house, and cried, " O mamma, I'd rather be a little girl 
than anything else." 

12. THE ELEPHANT AND THE TAILOR 

One day a tailor was sitting with his feet crossed by 
an open window, making some fine clothes, when an 
elephant, passing down to the river, playfully put his 
trunk in at the window. The tailor, out of meanness, 
pricked the elephant's trunk with his sharp needle. The 



I06 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

elephant in pain quickly drew it back and jogged on his 
way to the riverside, where, after quenching his thirst, he 
filled his trunk and mouth with the muddiest water he 
could find, and went back to the tailor's window and 
squirted it all over him and his fine clothes, making him 
a laughing-stock to all his neighbors. 

13. THE LOST CAMEL 

A wise man of the East once met a company of mer- 
chants who had lost their camel in the desert. " Was the 
camel blind in his right eye, and lame in his left foot ? " 
asked the man. " Yes," they said. " Had he lost a front 
tooth?" "He had." " And was he loaded with wheat 
on one side and with honey on the other? " " Yes, yes." 
" Then," said the man, " I haven't seen your camel." 
The merchants were angry and said : " You must have 
seen him, because you know all about him. You have 
taken our jewels and money from his load." They seized 
the man and brought him to the judge, who heard the 
story. The judge, as well as the merchants, thought the 
man knew more about the camel than he wished to tell. 
" How did you know the camel was blind in one eye ? " 
asked the judge. " I knew the camel was blind in one 
eye because it had eaten the grass on only one side of 
the path." " How did you know it was lame in its left 
leg?" "Because I saw that the print of that foot was 
fainter." "How did you know he had lost a tooth?" 
" Because wherever it had grazed a small tuft of grass 
was left untouched in the center of the bunch." " But 
how could you tell what its load was ? " cried the mer- 
chants ; " tell us that." " The busy ants on one side and 
the flies on the other showed me the camel was loaded 
with wheat and honey, and I knew it had strayed be- 
cause there were no footprints before or behind." " Go," 



FAVOKITES 107 

said the judge, " look for your camel." The merchants 
did so, and found the beast not far away. 



14. THE STORY WITHOUT AN END 

Once a King who never tired of hearing stories said : 
" If any one can tell me a story that will last forever, I 
will give him my daughter and half my kingdom, but if 
he fails he shall have his head cut off." The King's 
daughter was very pretty, so many young men tried; 
but a week, a month, two or three months was all they 
could spin out their story, and off came their heads. At 
last a young man came who said, " I can tell a story that 
will last forever." The King and his daughter begged 
him not to try, for they did not want to see another fine 
fellow lose his head. But he insisted that he would not 
fail, and so began his story : " Once upon a time a king 
built a high granary, and filled it with wheat to the 
very top. But in building it the workmen had left a 
very little hole near the ground, just large enough to 
let one little ant through. So a little ant went in and 
carried off a grain of wheat, then another little ant 
went in and carried off another grain of wheat, then 
another little ant went in and carried off another grain 
of wheat." Day after day, week after week, the story- 
teller kept saying, " Then another little ant went in and 
carried off another grain of wheat." " Tell us what hap- 
pened after that? " pleaded the King. " O King, I must 
first tell you this," he said; and so he continued several 
weeks longer. At last the King cried : " Man ! Man ! you 
will drive me wild with your ants. Take my- daughter; 
be my heir ; rule my kingdom ; but let me hear no more 
of your abominable ants." So the man married the King's 
daughter, and they lived happily. But the King never 
cared to hear any more stories. 



V 

CHRISTMAS STORIES 
(Adapted for Children, Six to Twelve Years.) 

I. SAINT CHRISTOPHER 

ONCE there was a very strong man who could carry 
such heavy loads that he was called " Offero," 
meaning " The Bearer." He was very proud of his 
strength and said, " I will serve only the greatest king 
on earth." He found a rich and powerful king and 
served him, until one day he saw his master tremble. 
" Why do you tremble, O king ? " he asked. " Because 
I fear Satan, who is too strong for me." " Then I will 
serve him," said Offero. He went at once and served 
Satan, until one day he noticed his new master tremble 
before a cross, the cross on which Christ hung to over- 
come the strength of Satan. Then Ofifero went every- 
where in search of the stronger master, Christ. He 
found a boy who said : " Yes, Christ is the strongest King 
on earth or in heaven. But to find him you must cross 
a broad river whose current is so swift that men are 
drowned in trying to cross. If you serve Christ by 
carrying over on your strong shoulders the weak and the 
little ones, you shall find the Christ of your search on 
the other side." Ofifero built a hut beside the swift- 
flowing river, and whenever he saw a poor traveler trying 
to cross the stream, he bore him on his strong shoul- 
ders. Well was he named " The Bearer," for he carried 
many across, and not one was lost. His staff was a 
great palm tree which he had plucked up by the roots. 
io8 




OFFERO . . . BEGAN TO CROSS THE FLOOD 



CHRISTMAS STORIES IO9 

One night as he was resting in his hut he heard the cry 
of a little child, calling, " Offero, will you carry me over 
this night ? " A weak little child stood near the river. 
Offero helped him on his strong shoulders and, staff in 
hand, began to cross the flood. But the wind blew furi- 
ously, the waves rose high, and there was a roaring in 
his ears as if a great ocean were let loose. The weight 
upon his shoulders bore him down until he feared he 
would sink. But he held firmly to his strong staff and 
at last reached the other bank and placed the child safely 
on the ground. " What have I borne ? " cried Offero ; " it 
could not have been simply a young child, for the weight 
was too great ! " Just then the child suddenly changed 
into the form of the strong Christ-King, who said: 
" Offero, as thou didst wish to serve me, I accepted thee 
as my servant. Thou hast borne, not the weight of a 
child, but the weight of a world. Thou shalt be called 
' Christ-Offer — the Christ-Bearer,' and shalt serve me 
always. P'ant thy staff in the ground, and it shall put 
forth leaves and fruit." Christopher did so, and the dry 
staff flourished as the palm tree, and was covered with 
clusters of fruit; but the Christ-Child had vanished from 
his sight. 

2. THE FIR TREE 

Far away in the forest grew a little Fir Tree. Around 
him stood tall pines and firs so large that the little Fir felt 
very discontented, wishing so much to be like the other 
trees. " If I were tall like them," sighed the Fir, " I would 
spread my branches so far the birds would build their 
nests in my boughs, and when the wind blew, I should 
bow grandly like them." So unhappy was the little tree 
that he took no pleasure in the warm sunshine, the birds, 
or the bright clouds. One day in winter when the snow 
was on the ground, a little rabbit jumped right over the 



no WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

little tree's head. Oh, that made him so angry! Two 
years after, the wood-cutters came and cut down several 
of the largest trees and carried them away. " Where do 
they take these trees?" the Fir Tree said; and a stork 
replied : " As I was flying here from Egypt I saw great 
masts on the ships. That is what large trees become." 
" Oh, how I wish I were tall enough to be a mast and 
sail on the sea ! " sighed the Fir Tree. 

Christmastime came, and many young trees were cut 
down, some that were even smaller than the Fir Tree, and 
men carried them away in wagons. " Where do they 
take those trees? " the Fir Tree asked; and the sparrows 
chirped : " We know ! we know ! We peeped in at the 
windows in the town and saw little trees like those 
planted in the middle of a warm room, and made beauti- 
ful with gilded apples, gingerbread, toys, and a hundred 
lights." " I wonder if anything like that will ever hap- 
pen to me ? " cried the discontented Fir Tree ; " that 
would be better than crossing the sea. Oh, when will 
Christmas come ? " The wind and air and sun and birds 
tried to make the Fir Tree happy, but he only grew more 
discontented with his lot. One day, just before Christ- 
mas, the wood-cutter came again, and this time the Fir 
Tree was the first to be cut down and carried off. But 
he could not think of happiness now, for he was sad at 
leaving his home in the forest. He knew that he would 
never again see his dear old friends, the trees, the bushes, 
the birds, and the flowers. That morning the Fir Tree 
was stuck upright in a tub that stood on a rich carpet 
in a splendid parlor. Some ladies came in and began 
to dress his boughs with very pretty things — sugar-plums, 
apples, oranges, walnuts, dolls; red, blue, and white 
candles; and to the top was fastened a glittering golden 
star that shone as brightly as any star in the sky. 
The tree looked very beautiful. " Oh," sighed the 



CHRISTMAS STORIES III 

tree, ''' I wish all the candles were lighted ! Will the 
trees of the forest come to see me? Will the sparrows 
peep in at the windows? I wonder if I shall stay pretty 
like this always ? " At last the candles were lighted ; the 
folding doors opened; happy children trooped into the 
room shouting and dancing with joy at the sight of the 
wonderful Christmas tree. Older people came too, to 
look at the sight and enjoy the presents which were taken 
one after the other from the tree, until all the candles 
were burned low and put out and only the glittering star 
remained. The happy children danced about the room 
with their pretty toys, and no one cared for the tree or 
looked at him except the nurse, who peeped among his 
branches to see if an apple or a fig had been forgotten. 
All night the tree stood in darkness. In the morning 
the servants dragged the tree from the tub and placed 
him up-stairs in the dark attic, where he stayed all winter, 
hidden away from sight and forgotten by every one. In 
the spring the tree was carried down-stairs and taken out 
into the yard. " Now I shall live again," said the Fir 
Tree, and he spread out his branches. But alas! his 
leaves were all withered and yellow, yet the star of gold 
still hung in the top, glittering in the sunshine. A boy 
seeing the star ran up and pulled it off the tree. " Look 
what was sticking to this ugly old Christmas tree," he 
cried, trampling on the branches until they cracked under 
his feet. A few minutes later the gardener's boy came up 
with an axe and chopped the tree into small pieces and 
threw them into the fire. And just as he was dying, the 
Fir Tree saw the little boy wearing the star on his 
breast and sighed, " The night I was crowned with that 
beautiful golden star was the happiest night of my life." 
And he knew that night of happiness was the longed- 
for Christmas Eve. — Adapted from Hans Christian 
Andersen. 



112 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

3. THE CHRISTMAS GIFT 

Once in the sunny land of France there was a little 
girl named Piccola, who lived all alone with her mother. 
They were very poor, and little Piccola had no dolls or 
toys, and she was often hungry and cold. One day when 
her mother was ill, Piccola worked hard all day trying to 
sell the stockings which she knit, while her own little 
bare feet were blue with cold. As Christmas drew near 
she said to her mother : " I wonder what Saint Nicholas 
will bring me this year? I have no stocking to hang in 
the fireplace, but I shall put my wooden shoe on the 
hearth for him. He will not forget me, I am sure." 
" Do not think of it this year, my dear child," replied her 
mother ; "we should be glad if we have bread enough 
to eat." But Piccola could not believe she would be for- 
gotten. On Christmas Eve she put her little wooden 
shoe on the hearth before the fire and went to sleep to 
dream of good Saint Nicholas. The poor mother looked 
at the shoe and thought how disappointed the little girl 
would be to find it empty in the morning, and sighed to 
think she had nothing to put in it. When the morning 
dawned Piccola awoke and ran to her shoe, and there in 
it lay something with bright eyes looking up at her. A 
little swallow, cold and hungry, had flown into the 
chimney and down to the room and had crept into the 
shoe for warmth. Piccola danced for joy, and clasped 
the shivering swallow to her breast. " Look ! Look ! " she 
said to her mother. " A Christmas gift, a gift from the 
good Saint Nicholas ! " and she danced again in her little 
bare feet. Then she fed and warmed the little bird, and 
cared for it tenderly all winter long. In the spring she 
opened the window for it to fly away, but it lived in the 
woods near-by, and sang often at her door. — Adapted 
from " Child Life in Many Lands," Blaisdell. 



CHRISTMAS STORIES II3 

4. THE GOLDEN COBWEBS 

(A Story to be told by the Christmas tree) 

The night before Christmas the tree was all trimmed 
with pop-corn, and silver nuts, and golden apples, and 
oranges, and walnuts, and dolls, and bonbons, and a hun- 
dred colored candles. It was placed safely out of sight 
in a locked room where the children could not see it until 
the proper time. But ever so many other little house- 
folks had seen it. Pussy saw it with her great gray 
eyes. The house-dog saw it with his steady brown eyes. 
The yellow canary saw it with his wise bright eyes. Even 
the little mice had a good peek at it. But there was 
some one who had not seen the Christmas tree. It was 
the little gray spider! The housemother had swept and 
dusted and scrubbed to make everything clean for the 
Christ-Child's birthday and every spider had scampered 
away. At last the little gray spider went to the Christ- 
Child, and said : " All the others see the Christmas tree, 
dear Christ-Child, but we are cleaned up! We like to 
see beautiful things too ! " The Christ-Child was sorry 
for the little spider, and he said, " You shall see it." So 
on Christmas morning before any of the children were 
awake, the spiders came creeping, creeping, creeping 
down the attic stairs, along the hall, under the door, and 
into the room where the Christmas tree was standing. 
Oh! it was beautiful to their little eyes as they looked 
upon it as much as they liked. Then father spider, 
mother spider, and all the spider family went creeping, 
creeping, creeping up the tree and all over its branches, 
and in great joy hurried back to their home in the attic. 
The Christ-Child looked down to see if the tree was all 
ready for the children, and oh! — it was all covered over 
with cobwebs ! " How badly the housewife will feel at 
seeing those cobwebs ! " said the Christ-Child. " I will 

H 



114 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

change them into golden cobwebs for the beauty of the 
Christmas tree." So that is how the Christmas tree came 
to have golden cobwebs. — Adapted from "How to Tell 
Stories to Children," by Sara Cone Bryant. 



5. THE LEGEND OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE 

One cold, wintry night, two little children were sitting 
by the fire when suddenly they heard a timid knock at 
the door. One of the children ran quickly and opened it. 
Outside in the cold and darkness, they saw a poor little 
boy, shivering, without shoes on his feet, and dressed in 
thin, ragged clothing. " Please, may I come in and warm 
myself ? " he said. " Yes, indeed," cried the children, " you 
shall have our place by the fire. Come in ! " The little 
stranger boy came in and the kind children shared their 
supper with him and gave him their bed, while they slept 
on the hard bench. In the night they were awakened by 
strains of sweetest music, and, looking out of the win- 
dow, they saw a band of children in shining garments 
coming near the house. They were playing on golden 
harps, and the air was full of Christmas music. Then 
lo ! the Stranger-child, no longer in rags, but clad in 
silvery light, stood before them, and in his soft voice 
said : " I was cold and you let me in. I was hungry and 
you fed me. I was very tired and you gave me your 
nice soft bed. I am the Christ-Child who comes to bring 
peace and happiness to all kind children. As you have 
been good to me, may this tree every year bring rich 
gifts to you." He broke a branch from the fir tree that 
grew near the door and planted it in the ground, and dis- 
appeared. But the branch grew into the Tree of Love, 
and every year it bore golden fruit for the kind chil- 
dren. — Adapted from Lucy Wheelock in Bailey-Leivis, 
"For the Children's Hour," 



VI 

BIBLE STORIES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT 
(Adapted for Children, Six to Twelve Years.) 

I. HOW THE WORLD WAS MADE 

(Genesis i, 2) 

IN the beginning, long, long ago, God created this won- 
derful world and all things in it. At first there was 
no earth, no sun, no moon or stars, no grass or trees, 
no seas or sky. This great round ball, on which we live, 
was nothing but a great cloud of mist without shape or 
size. Everywhere there was great darkness. God was 
living in his home in heaven, and he said, " Let there be 
light." So light was the first wonderful thing God made. 
Then God separated the sky mists from the earth mists. 
He made the waters roll back into seas; and the moun- 
tains, with great lakes between, appeared. When the sun 
and moon and stars shone out more brightly, driving the 
mists and water away from the dry land, God made grass 
and trees and flowers to spring up in great beauty and 
abundance ; and each tree and flower had little, tiny seeds 
to send up little shoots to make others. Then great swarms 
of living things appeared — strange fishes and sea-mon- 
sters to swim in the waters, reptiles and creeping things 
to creep on the land, birds to fly through the air, and 
all kinds of four-footed beasts to roam through the 
forests. Still, there was no man nor woman, nor any 
little child anywhere to enjoy what God had made. So 
God created a man and called his name Adam. God 

115 



Il6 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

placed him in a large garden called Eden, filled with 
beautiful and useful things — rivers of water to water it, 
gold and precious stones, trees good for food, animals, 
birds, and fishes. Adam gave names to all the animals. 
But among them all there was not one to talk with 
him. So God made a beautiful companion for Adam and 
called her name Eve. This first man and woman lived 
together very happily in this beautiful Garden of Eden, 
caring for the flowers and fruit, watching the animals, 
loving each other, andi talking with God, their Creator 
and Friend. 

2. HOW A HAPPY HOME WAS LOST 

(Genesis 3) 

Adam and Eve were very happy in their beautiful 
garden-home in Eden. In the cool of the day, when the 
sun went down, and the garden was quiet, they knew that 
God was very, very near them, walking and talking with 
them. All the animals and plants, all the beautiful trees 
were for their use. But there was one tree with fruit 
that God, to teach them to obey, told them not to eat. 
For a long time they thought of nothing else but doing 
exactly what God told them. But one day Eve stopped in 
front of the tree and looked at the fruit. How good it 
looked ! She wondered how it tasted. Then she turned 
to go away, for she knew that God had said that whoever 
tasted it would die. Just then she heard a voice. She 
looked, and the voice came from a bright, shining snake, 
coiled close in front of the tree. The snake said, " Did 
God say you shall not eat of any tree of this garden ? " 
Eve said, " God said we shall not eat of this tree, nor 
touch it, lest we die." " You will be like God if you 
eat it; you will know good and evil." She listened to 
this voice tempting her to do what was wrong. Then 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT II/ 

she looked at the tree again. It looked so good to eat 
and so pretty, and as if it would make one know a great 
deal, that she picked some of the fruit and ate it. Then 
she ran and gave some to Adam, and he ate it too. That 
evening, when the sun was going down, making long 
shadows upon the grass, and a cool breeze was rustling 
the leaves, and the garden was all lonely and still, Adam 
heard the sound of God in the garden. Instead of gladly 
running to meet their heavenly Father and Friend, as 
they had always done before when he came to talk with 
them, they were afraid, and ran and hid themselves among 
the trees. God called to Adam, "Where art thou?" 
Guilty and ashamed, Adam said, " I heard thy voice, 
and I was afraid." God said, " Hast thou eaten of the 
tree of which I commanded thee not to eat ? " Adam 
said, " Eve gave it to me and I ate." Eve said, " The 
snake tempted me, and I ate." God told the snake he 
must crawl always flat on the ground, and every animal 
and man would hate him more than any other creature. 
He told Adam and Eve, because they had disobeyed him, 
they must be driven out of the beautiful garden and must 
dig and work hard in getting their food in desert lands 
among thistles and thorns, stones and timber, and at last, 
he said, they must die. But God still loved them, and 
gave them a beautiful promise of a loving Saviour who 
would be so obedient and pure and strong that he would 
prepare for them a beautiful city in the place of their 
garden-home, which they had lost through disobedience. 

3. THE FIRST TWO BROTHERS 

(Genesis 4) 

The first two brothers in the world were Cain and Abel. 
They were born after their parents were driven out of 
their beautiful garden-home in Eden. When these boys 



Il8 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

grew up, Cain, the elder, became a farmer, and Abel be- 
came a shepherd. Their parents brought them up always 
to ask God to forgive them when they did wrong, and 
to bring offerings to him of what they had. One day 
when they came with their gifts, Abel, with a loving heart, 
carried a lamb, the best of his flock, but Cain brought 
some fruit in a careless way. God was well pleased 
with Abel's gift, because of the love that came with it; 
but not with Cain's, because Cain kept hatred to his 
brother in his heart. Cain was angry and his face became 
dark and scowling. God said : " Why are you angry and 
scowling? If you do well, will you not be happy? If 
you do not well, hatred in your heart will crouch, like a 
lion, ready to spring at you." 

But Cain paid no attention to God's loving word. One 
day he said to Abel, " Come into the field with me." 
When they were there alone, the crouching lion of hatred 
in Cain's heart sprang up, and Cain lifted up his hand 
and slew his brother. Then Cain heard God's voice say- 
ing, " Where is thy brother ? " He answered untruth- 
fully, " I know not ; am I my brother's keeper ? " Then 
as Cain had done this wicked deed, God sent him from 
his home and parents to become a wanderer on the earth, 
working even harder than his father and his mother 
did. Cain's suffering was just what he had brought upon 
himself, yet he said, " My punishment is greater than I 
can bear." He was afraid wherever he went men would 
seek to kill him, for he knew he deserved to be killed. 
But God gave him a mark by which he could know that 
God was still watching over him and would not let any 
one kill him. So Cain went away and built a city and 
lived unhappily the rest of his life, away from his father 
and mother, because he had allowed hatred instead of 
love to live in his heart, and because he had not tried 
to please his loving Father in heaven. 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT Up 

4. THE FLOOD AND THE RAINBOW 

(Genesis 6-8) 

Once when God looked down on the people of the 
earth, he saw that there was only one good man to be 
found anywhere. All the rest were disobedient and very 
wicked. So God planned to save all who would be obedi- 
ent to him, but to destroy all the disobedient, in order 
that such great wickedness should not increase over all 
the earth. God told Noah, the one just and good man, 
his plan. He told him to build a large ark, half boat and 
half house. It was to be five hundred feet long, fifty 
feet high, and eighty-three feet wide — about the size of 
a big ocean steamer to-day. There were to be three 
stories, many rooms, and a window on the top. The 
one door was to be on the side. This great houseboat 
was not to be for travel, but only to float on the water. 
In the ark Noah, his wife and sons, and his sons' wives, 
and all others who would obey God, were to be saved. 
For one hundred long years Noah and his sons worked 
away building this strange ship — hammering, sawing, 
planing, and laying great beams hundreds of feet long. 
The people laughed at Noah and mocked him. It was 
very hard for Noah to be mocked, but he kept right on 
with his work, telling them of God and his holiness and 
how their wickedness was grieving God. But they would 
not listen, nor change their ways, nor believe any flood 
would come. At last the great ark was finished. Then 
Noah gathered together two of every kind of birds and 
animals, and they marched or flew into the ark, and be- 
hind them Noah and his family went in, with food for 
all to last for many months. And God shut the door. 
So they were safe because they had obeyed God. 

Then the rain began to fall. Thunder crashed and 
echoed from the mountains and the wind dashed the rain 



I20 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

against the ark. Torrents of rain came down, until soon 
the ark began to float. Higher and higher it rose, rock- 
ing and tossing, up above the treetops, above the hills, 
above the mountains. The flood had come, and the 
wicked people were all drowned. But Noah and his 
family were safe inside the ark. After forty days the 
rain stopped, but the water flooded in from the sea. 
For one hundred and fifty days the waters rose, and then 
began to go down. But the ark rested on one of the high 
mountains. Noah opened the window and sent forth a 
raven, and then a dove. The raven flew away, resting 
on things floating in the water. The dove came back 
several times, once bearing an olive-branch in her beak. 
At last she did not return, by which Noah knew the dove 
had found land on which to rest, and that the water was 
gone. Then Noah and all in the ark went out, after being 
in it more than a year. The first thing Noah did was to 
thank God for saving him and his family. Then Noah 
looked up in the clear, blue sky and there was a wonder- 
ful rainbow, with every color in it, arching the heavens. 
This was God's sign and promise that he would never 
again destroy the world with water. So every time they 
saw a rainbow after that, they remembered that God was 
looking at it too, remembering this promise of his : " Dur- 
ing all the days of the earth, sowing and reaping, and 
cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, 
shall not cease." 

My heart leaps up when I behold 

A rainbow in the sky; 

So was it when my life began; 

So is it now I am a man ; 

So be it when I shall grow old, 

Or let me die! 

The child is father to the man; 

And I could wish my days to be 

Bound each to each by natural piety. 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT 121 

5. THE GENEROUS UNCLE AND THE SELFISH NEPHEW 

(Genesis 12-19) 

Long, long after the flood, there lived a good man 
whose name was Abram, " the friend of God," He was 
the first Hebrew. At first he lived in a large city on the 
river Euphrates. It was a beautiful city with fine build- 
ings, gardens, fountains, statuary, and other things for 
comfort and pleasure. Abram and his people were rich. 
They had everything to make them happy, excepting 
one thing. Abram saw that in all that great city, in all 
that country, none worshiped God but himself. There 
were many temples where the people worshiped the sun, 
moon, stars, and many false gods. There were beau- 
tiful temples built, and beautiful music sung to the Sun- 
god, but no thanks were given to the great Creator of 
the sun and moon and man. A good deal of their wor- 
ship was very wicked and cruel, and often boys and girls 
were burned to please the idols. Abram saw all this 
was false and wicked. One day God told him to leave 
that land and take a long journey to another land that 
God would show him. At last Abram reached a land so 
rich in vines, fruit trees, and pastures for flocks and 
herds, that it was called " the land flowing with milk and 
honey." Here Abram and Lot, his brother's son, lived 
in tents. Both were very rich in cattle, goats, sheep, 
servants, and silver and gold. But when the servants of 
Lot and Abram kept quarreling over which should have 
the best pasture for feeding their flocks, Abram said to 
Lot : " Let there be no quarrel between thee and me, and 
between our servants, for we are brethren. Choose the 
land you wish, and I will take what is left." Abram was 
older than Lot, and had always been kind and generous, 
like a father, to him. Lot should have given his uncle the 
first choice. Instead of that. Lot greedily chose the well- 



122 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

watered plain-lands near the river Jordan, leaving to his 
uncle the hilly land. Abram generously let him keep 
them. Lot moved close to the wicked city of Sodom. 
Soon after, in a battle. Lot and his family and his serv- 
ants were taken prisoners. Lot had not treated his 
uncle well, but that made no difference to Abram. He 
was a true friend, loving Lot even when he did not do 
right. So he rescued Lot and saved all the property the 
kings had stolen. Lot went back to Sodom, making his 
home this time inside the city, among its wicked people, 
and he grew more forgetful of God. 

One day, in Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities of the 
plain, a great fire broke out which destroyed everything 
Lot had. Only for Abram's prayer to God, Lot would 
have been burned up too. But for Abram's sake, two 
angels came and led Lot and his wife and two daughters 
out of the city, telling them not to look back nor stay 
in all the plain, but flee to the mountains. Lot's wife 
looked longingly back at the wicked cities, and was 
changed into a pillar of salt in the very plain upon 
which she, with Lot, had so much set her heart. Lot and 
his two daughters were saved only by fleeing to the moun- 
tain land that Lot had despised and Abram had taken. 
So, after all, the selfish nephew did not choose so well 
as the unselfish uncle, " the friend of God." 

Yes, Faith, Life, Song, most meetly named him " Friend " ; 
All men's he was and is, till time shall end. 
And in the Christ-path he so closely trod 
That all men saw he was " the Friend of God." 

6. THE OBLIGING GIRL AT THE WELL 

(Genesis 24) 

" Laughter " is a queer name for a boy. But 
" Laughter " is the name Abraham gave his son. That 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT I23 

is what Isaac means. When Isaac grew up Abraham did 
not like the idea of his son marrying any of the young 
women of that land because they all worshiped idols; 
so he called his head servant and told him to go far 
away to the country where Abraham's own people lived, 
and there find a young woman who would be the right 
sort of wife for Isaac. It was a long, long journey 
across the desert. Abraham gave the servant ten camels, 
and servants, and tents, with gold and silver, and precious 
stones and rich robes, to give as presents to the young 
woman and her family. After many days of travel the 
servant came to a city where some of Abraham's people 
were still living. Outside the city was a well with a 
trough for the camels to drink from. He knew every 
evening young girls and women came with their pitchers 
for drinking water to this well. He decided when they 
came he would ask for a drink, and whoever gave him 
a drink and also offered to give the camels a drink by 
filling the watering-trough, would prove the wife for 
Isaac, He also prayed God to guide him. While he was 
praying there came to the well a beautiful young girl 
carrying a pitcher on her shoulder. When she had filled 
her pitcher the servant said, " Let me drink, please." 
She said, " Drink, my lord," and quickly let down her 
pitcher upon her hand and gave him a drink. Then see- 
ing how tired the camels looked, her kind heart made her 
say, " I will get water for your camels too." Camels 
drink a great deal of water, and there were ten of them, 
but this obliging girl did not stop filling the large water- 
ing-trough until every thirsty beast had drunk enough. 
Quietly the servant watched her, and when he saw how 
friendly she was he gave her a splendid gold earring and 
two beautiful bracelets of gold and asked her name and 
whether there was room in her father's house for him to 
stay over night. She told him her name was Rebecca — 



124 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

a relative of Abraham's family — and said there was plenty 
of room for them to spend the night. Then the servant 
thanked God, for he knew this kind, obliging girl was 
just the one whom God wanted to become Isaac's wife. 
When they came to the house, the servant told his story 
to all, and gave still more beautiful presents to Rebecca 
and to her sister and brothers. Early the next morning 
the old servant wanted to start back at once, because 
God had prospered his journey. They called Rebecca 
and said to her, " Wilt thou go with this man ? " And 
she said, " I will go." So Rebecca's queer bridal party, 
herself and her old nurse, Deborah, and several maids, 
mounted on camels and escorted by Abraham's servants, 
began the long march to Isaac's home in Canaan where 
she and Isaac were married. They loved each other dearly. 
And Abraham was glad that " Laughter " had found 
so good and true a wife in the friendly girl at the well. 

7. THE LADDER THAT REACHED TO HEAVEN 

(Genesis 28) 

Isaac and Rebecca had two boys, Esau and Jacob. 
Esau became a hunter, and Jacob a shepherd. One day 
Esau came home from hunting very hungry. He asked 
Jacob to give him some of the red broth that he had 
just cooked. Jacob knew that Esau cared nothing for 
his birthright (that is, all that he would receive as the 
eldest son). But Jacob wanted that more than anything 
else in the world. So Jacob said, " Will you give me 
your birthright if I do ? " Esau said, " Yes, I am starv- 
ing; give me the broth for the blessing." Jacob could 
not believe Esau meant it; but he did mean it, and so 
sold his birthright for something to eat. Not long after, 
Jacob received the birthright blessing from his father, 
Isaac. Then Esau was sorry and angry, and hated his 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT 125 

brother, and planned to kill him. Rebecca told Jacob 
what Esau was planning to do, and sent him to her 
brother's home to save Jacob's life. 

So Jacob had to leave his father and mother and home 
and start alone on a long journey with nothing but a 
long cloak to wrap about him at night. When the sun 
went down, as he was thinking of the great wrong he 
had done his brother, tired and sad at heart, he lay down 
to sleep on a stony hillside, placing one of the stones 
under his head for a pillow. At last he fell asleep, and 
in his dream he saw a ladder reaching from earth to 
heaven. He saw beautiful shining angels coming down 
the ladder and going back. At the top he saw God look- 
ing down on him, saying, " I am the Lord, the God of 
Abraham and thy father Isaac." God promised if he 
would do what was right, that he would forgive all 
his wrong — be with him in all his journey and give him 
the wonderful promises made to Abraham and Isaac. 

Early in the morning, when Jacob awoke, he knelt be- 
side that stone, promising God that he would be a better 
man. He lived to be an aged man — one hundred and 
forty-seven years old — but he never forgot that place 
which he called " The House of God," from which he 
saw the ladder that reached to heaven, showing him that 
God was near him. 

From this story the beautiful lines of the hymn, 
which have been such a comfort to many upon battle- 
fields and in the hour of death, were written : 

Though like a wanderer, 

The sun gone down, 
Darkness be over me, 

My rest a stone, 
Yet, in my dreams I'd be, 
Nearer, my God, to thee, 

Nearer to thee. 



126 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

8. THE SLAVE-BOY WHO BECAME A PRINCE 

(Genesis 37 to 47) 

Jacob had twelve sons, and Joseph was next to the 
youngest. He was the best loved of all, and his father 
showed how much he loved him by giving him a coat of 
many colors. This made his older brothers jealous and 
angry. When Joseph was sixteen years old he dreamed 
that he was binding sheaves of grain in a field with his 
eleven brothers and his father and mother, and all the 
other sheaves bowed down to his sheaf. Another dream 
he had was that the sun and moon and eleven stars 
bowed down to him. When Joseph awoke he told these 
queer dreams to his brothers. No wonder they called 
him " the dreamer " and teasingly said, " Shall we all, 
indeed, come to bow down to you ? " Soon after this 
his nine big brothers caught this boy out in a field and put 
him down into a deep pit, and then sold him to camel- 
drivers as a slave for twenty pieces of silver (about one 
hundred and twenty dollars). Then they killed one of 
their own goats, dipped Joseph's coat of many colors, 
which they had taken off him, into the blood, and taking 
it home, wickedly made their father think a wild beast 
had eaten Joseph. Jacob mourned for him as dead, and 
the brothers thought the dreamer would never tell any 
more of his dreams. 

The camel-drivers sold Joseph as a slave in Egypt to a 
rich man who promoted him to be the chief ruler of his 
great house. It was a fine place for him. But one day 
some one told a very wicked lie about him, and he was 
cast into prison. But Joseph was so cheerful and kind 
and useful, even in prison, that he was soon placed over 
all the prisoners. When the king heard that Joseph had 
power to tell people the meaning of their dreams, he sent 
for him to tell the meaning of two dreams that troubled 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT I27 

him. Joseph told the king his dreams. So Joseph was 
removed from prison to the king's palace, and was dressed 
in fine clothes, with a gold chain around his neck and a 
gold ring on his finger, and made ruler over all the land, 
next to the king. Soon a great famine arose (just as 
Joseph had told the king) in all lands except Egypt, be- 
cause Joseph had filled big barns with corn. Joseph's ten 
brothers came from Canaan to Egypt to buy food to 
keep their families from starving. They were taken into 
the presence of the great ruler who sold the corn, and 
they bowed down to the earth before him. So the dream- 
er's dream came true, though they did not know it then. 
Joseph knew them, and treated them kindly without let- 
ting them know he was their brother. He longed to see 
his youngest brother, Benjamin, and told the older 
brothers to bring him down with them when they came 
again, or they could have no more corn. When they 
brought him, and when Joseph looked upon Benjamin's 
face, this great Prince of Egypt burst into tears and said, 
" I am Joseph, your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt, 
but whom God sent before you to preserve life." Then 
they were afraid, but Joseph lovingly put his arms 
about their necks and kissed them and cried with them 
until they knew that he freely forgave them. So they 
went home quickly and brought their old father, Jacob, 
the good news, " Joseph is yet alive, and he is ruler over 
all the land of Egypt ! " Jacob could scarcely believe 
them. But when they told him how he had forgiven their 
wickedness, he said, " I will go and see him before I die." 
So all together they went to Egypt and lived in a beauti- 
ful house which Joseph gave them. Then he took good 
care of them all, and lived near his dear old father until 
the old man died, happily and peacefully, because he was 
with his beloved Joseph, whom he had lost as a slave 
and had found again as a prince. 



128 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

9. THE BABY BROTHER IN A BASKET-BOAT 

(Exodus 2) 

Long, long ago, a little boy was born in a Hebrew 
home, at a time when a cruel king of Egypt ordered all 
Hebrew boys that were born, to be thrown to the croco- 
diles in the great river Nile. But this little babe was so 
beautiful that his mother hid him in the house and prayed 
God to keep him safe. She hid him carefully for three 
months. Then, being afraid some one might hear him, 
she went to the river and gathered some long, strong 
grasses that grew there and braided them together, ma- 
king a small basket and shaping it like a boat. To make 
it warm and dry inside, and to keep it from sinking 
when placed in the water, she painted it with black paint 
inside and out. Early one morning, when all was ready, 
the mother took her baby boy quietly sleeping in the 
basket-boat, and went down to the river Nile, the little 
baby's sister, Miriam, following closely behind her. The 
mother hid the basket among the tall grasses near the 
shore, and again prayed God to keep her baby safe. 
Miriam was left hiding in the tall grass near-by to see 
what would happen to her little brother in his new bed. 
Very soon the princess, the daughter of the cruel king 
of Egypt, with her maids, came down to the river to 
bathe. Quickly she spied the basket-boat and cried, 
" What is that floating on the water among the tall 
grasses? Bring it to me." One of her maids ran and 
picked up the basket and brought it to the princess. 
When she opened it, there was the most beautiful baby 
boy she had ever seen ! The child was wide awake, and 
seeing the strange face, began to cry. " It is one of the 
Hebrew babies that my father ordered drowned ! " she 
said. " But I have found him, and I will keep him as my 
own little baby boy. I will call his name ' Moses.' " 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT I29 

Miriam was watching from her hiding-place in the tall 
grasses. She ran out and said, " Shall I bring a nurse 
for the baby ? " " Yes," said the princess. Miriam ran 
home as fast as she could, and whom do you suppose she 
brought? The baby's own mother! And the princess 
told her to take him home and nurse him and care for 
him for her, for she loved him as her very own, and the 
king would not harm him. 

So the prayer that Moses' mother made to God to take 
care of her little baby boy in the basket-boat was an- 
swered. And Moses grew up to be a great and good 
man. 

10. WHY BOYS TAKE OFF THEIR HATS IN CHURCH 

(Exodus 3) 

When the boy Moses was old enough to leave his 
mother he went to live with his new mother in the king's 
palace. 

Moses was a good boy. He studied his lessons so 
well in school that he grew up to be one of the wisest 
and best young men in all the land. But Moses never 
forgot his own Hebrew people. He was not careless of 
the cruel way they were treated as slaves by the king's 
officers. He tried to improve their sad condition in his 
own hasty way, but he soon saw that neither his own 
people nor their masters wanted a princess's son to inter- 
fere. They were both ready to kill him for trying to help. 
So Moses had to flee for his life into the mountains where 
he became a shepherd. One day as he was leading his 
sheep up the mountainside, he saw a thorn-bush all aflame ; 
and it kept on burning, but was not burned up. Moses 
wondered to see so strange a sight. Leaving his sheep 
he went near. Suddenly a Voice called out of the midst 
of the fire-bush, " Moses ! Moses ! " Moses answered, 
I 



130 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

" Here am I." The Voice said, " Take off thy shoes 
from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is 
holy ground." It was God, in the form of an angel, 
speaking to him. Moses at once took off his shoes and 
bowed reverently in the presence of God. Then God told 
him a better way by which he could help his downtrodden 
people and set them free from their cruel masters who 
were beating them and making their life so hard. He 
told Moses he wanted him to lead his people out of their 
bondage. At first Moses was afraid he was not able to 
do what God wanted him to do, but God said, " Certainly, 
Moses, I will be with thee." Moses obeyed the Voice 
that spoke that day to him out of the fire-bush, and he 
became one of the greatest of leaders and lawgivers that 
this world ever saw. Men and boys take off their hats 
in church to-day for the same reason that Moses removed 
his shoes before the fire-bush — to show reverence in the 
presence of God and respect for his wonderful way of 
speaking to men. 

II. THE BOY WHO LIVED IN A CHURCH 

(i Samuel 2, 3) 

Once there was a little boy, about seven years old, who 
was taken by his mother to a beautiful church and left 
there to be educated by the minister, who lived in a room 
at the side of the church. The little boy's mother had 
promised God that if he would give her a little boy she 
would give him back to him, and that all the days of his 
life her boy should serve him. So as soon as he was old 
enough to leave her she remembered her promise. A 
little room was fitted up for the little fellow next to the 
minister's room. Little Samuel learned to trim the 
lamps, to open and close the church doors, and to be use- 
ful in many little ways in helping the minister. Once a 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT I3I 

year his mother came to see him, bringing for him a beau- 
tiful little, new, white coat, which she had made for him. 
It was the same kind of white coat the minister wore. 
One night as the little boy was lying asleep in his room, 
suddenly a beautiful Voice rang through the chamber, 
calling, " Samuel ! Samuel ! " Samuel thought it was the 
minister calling him. He ran to the minister's room, say- 
ing, " Here am I ! " "I called not," said the minister ; 
" lie down again." So the boy went back to bed. Then 
again the Voice called, " Samuel ! " Again he ran to the 
minister who said, " I called not ; lie down again." When 
all was quiet, the third time the Voice called, " Samuel ! " 
and again the boy sprang up and ran quickly to the 
minister's room. Then the minister knew God was call- 
ing him. " Go lie down," he said, " and if you hear the 
Voice again, it is God calling you ; say, ' Speak, Lord, for 
thy servant heareth.' " As soon as Samuel lay down 
again, God called, " Samuel ! Samuel ! " and little Samuel 
kneeling beside his bed said, " Speak, Lord, for thy serv- 
ant heareth." Then God told him what he wished him to 
do for him when he grew older. So the little boy who 
was obedient to God's voice grew up to be a great and 
good man, living always for the good of his people. 

12. THE DAUGHTER WHO HONORED HER MOTHER 

(Book of Ruth) 

Far away in the strange land of Moab a poor widow 
started to return to her own home in the land of Israel. 
Ruth and Orpah, her two daughters-in-law, the wives of 
her sons who had just died, wished to go with her, for 
they could not think of the poor, old, sad mother return- 
ing all by herself on that long journey. But after they 
had gone a little way, the old mother kissed them and 
said, " Go back to your home and native land ! " So 



132 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

Orpah kissed her good-bye and returned, but Ruth clung 
to her mother-in-law and said: "Entreat me not to leave 
thee and return from following after thee; for whither 
thou goest I will go ; and where thou lodgest I will lodge ; 
thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God; 
where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried. 
Nothing but death shall part thee and me." Ruth knew 
that where Naomi was going she would be poor, and 
that they would have to work hard, but she loved this 
old mother too much to leave her. Soon they saw the 
hills and then the houses of Bethlehem, Naomi's home. 
They settled down in that little town, but were so poor 
they did not know how to get even food enough to eat. 
The time of year had come when the farmers were begin- 
ning to cut the barley — the harvest-time. It was the 
custom in that land to allow poor people to go into the 
fields and gather up the loose ears of barley that were 
left by the reapers ; and Ruth went to glean a little food 
for herself and her mother. She happened to go into the 
field of a rich man named Boaz. By and by when Boaz 
came to see how the reapers were getting on, he saw 
Ruth gleaning, and asked his reapers who she was. They 
told him that she was Naomi's daughter-in-law, just come 
from Moab. Then Boaz called her to him and told her 
that she was welcome to glean in his fields all through the 
harvest. He said : " I have heard all about your good- 
ness to Naomi. May you be fully rewarded by Jehovah, 
the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to 
take refuge." At dinnertime Boaz told her to sit down 
with the reapers, who gave her food and drink. She ate 
all she wished, and still she had some left, which in the 
evening she took home with her, with the barley she had 
gleaned, to Naomi. At the end of the barley harvest, 
this great and good rich man, Boaz, fell in love with 
Ruth, and she became his wife. The old mother, Naomi, 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT I33 

went to live with them in their large and beautiful house, 
and she never was in want again. When a little son 
came to them, Ruth called his name Obed, and when he 
grew to be an old man, he was the grandfather of King 
David. So Ruth, the gleaner, who was kind and loyal to 
her mother-in-law, became the great-grandmother of the 
greatest King of Israel. 

13, THE SHEPHERD-BOY WHO SLEW A GIANT 

Far away on a hillside, one starry night, a shepherd- 
boy was watching his father's sheep. The little lambs 
were cuddled up close to their mothers and all was quiet 
and peaceful in the moonlight when out of the woods 
near-by came a dark animal. It was a big brown bear 
that had come to steal a lamb. Nearer and nearer it came 
when the shepherd-boy, who loVed his sheep, quickly 
placed a large sharp stone in his sling and slung it at the 
bear's forehead. With a great cry of pain the bear rolled 
over dead. So the lambs were saved from the bear. 
Another time, a lion sprang out from behind a rock and, 
seizing a little baby lamb in his mouth, started to run 
away with it. On the minute the shepherd-boy was after 
him, slinging one of his sharp stones at the lion's head. 
It struck the lion without killing him, but, letting the 
baby lamb go, he turned roaring and sprang at the boy. 
He caught him by the beard, and with his shepherd's 
staflf struck at him until the great animal fell back dead. 
So the lambs loved the shepherd still more, for he had 
saved them from the lion too. Some time after, this 
same shepherd-boy went out to the battlefield to take 
some corn and loaves of bread to his soldier brothers. 
While he was talking to his brothers a great giant came 
out and stood upon a high cliff and cried across the valley, 
" I dare any man to come and fight me ! " This giant was 



134 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

ten and a half feet in height — so tall that a boy would not 
come as high as his knees. Upon his head was a helmet 
of brass ; his whole body was covered with armor of 
brass; even on his legs were heavy plates of brass. In 
his hand he held a long staff with a sharp spear-point at 
the end ; by his side hung a sword, and a man went be- 
fore him carrying a shield. This was the famous Philis- 
tine giant, " Goliath," before whom all the Hebrew soldiers 
trembled and ran away to their tents in fear. This young 
shepherd-boy was surprised that none dared go out and 
fight him, especially when he heard that King Saul had 
said whoever would kill this terrible giant should receive 
great riches and have the king's daughter for his wife. 
This boy said, " I will go and fight him ! " Some one 
told the king what he said, and Saul sent for him and 
said: " Surely you are not able to go and fight him; you 
are only a boy, and he has been a fighter from the time 
he was a boy." This shepherd-boy bravely replied: 
" When I was smaller than I am now, I was watching my 
father's sheep, and a bear and a lion came to take a lamb 
out of the flock, and I smote both the lion and the bear, 
and this giant shall be as one of them, because he has 
defied the armies of the living God. My God, who de- 
livered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw 
of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this 
boastful giant." The king said, " My boy, go; and may 
God be with you." Then he offered the shepherd-boy 
his armor of brass, his helmet, and sword. But the shep- 
herd-boy said, " Please, may I go without these ? My 
shepherd's sling and staff, with God, are all I need." 
Then he ran to the brook and selected five smooth stones 
and put them in his shepherd's bag and went forth to 
meet the giant who came to meet him. When Goliath 
saw only a boy he said : " Am I a dog that you come to 
me with a stick! Come to me, boy, and I'll give your 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT I35 

flesh to the birds and beasts ! " And he cursed him by 
his gods. The brave shepherd-boy did not flinch, but 
repHed : " You come to me with a sword, and a spear, and 
a javeHn. I come to you in the name of the God of the 
armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day God 
will deliver you into my hands, and I will take your 
head from you and give it to the birds and wild beasts, 
that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 
and that they may know that God saves not with sword 
or spear; for this battle is God's, and he will give you 
into our hands." The proud giant, clad in his brass 
armor, began walking toward the boy, who quickly put 
his hand into his bag, took out a stone, slung it with all 
his might at the giant's forehead, and Goliath fell on 
his face to the ground — dead. Quickly he ran, stood on 
the giant, took the great sword of Goliath out of its 
sheath, and with one blow cut off the giant's head in the 
sight of the soldiers of both armies. When the army of 
the giant saw that their champion was dead, they turned 
and ran away over the mountains and, with a shout of 
victory, Saul's soldiers ran after them and took them 
prisoners. So the shepherd-boy, with a sling and a stone, 
and the help of God, won a great battle that day. He 
became the king's son-in-law, and when Saul died he be- 
came king, one of the greatest and best kings Israel ever 
had — King David. 

14. THE ARROW-BOY AND THE TWO FRIENDS 

(i Samuel i8 to 20) 

The shepherd-boy who slew the giant was invited to 
live at the king's palace, and he became a great friend of 
the king's son, Jonathan. David and Jonathan soon 
loved each other greatly. All the people too came to love 
David more than they did King Saul. This made the 



136 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

king very jealous, and he resolved to kill this popular 
young soldier, whom everybody praised so much; even 
the women and girls singing of him in the streets : 

Saul hath slain his thousands, 
And David his ten thousands. 

When Jonathan suspected his father's evil intentions, 
he told David to go away from the palace for three days. 
" After three days," he said, " I will come to your hiding- 
place and bring an arrow-boy with me, and I will shoot 
three arrows. If I say to the boy, ' Run and find the 
arrows on this side of you, come back,' you can come 
back to the palace in safety ; but if I say, ' Haste, stay not,' 
then there is danger, and you must flee." After two days 
Saul missed David at the dining-table, and told Jonathan 
that if he found David he would surely kill him. And he 
threw a javelin at Jonathan to kill him too, because he 
was the friend of David. Quickly Jonathan went with 
the boy to the place appointed and shot an arrow far 
beyond the mark and cried to the boy, " Haste, stay not." 
The boy ran and brought him the arrow and returned to 
the palace. David came out from his hiding-place. The 
two friends kissed each other and made promises of 
eternal friendship. And they saw each other only once 
after that day. So the arrow-boy helped the two friends. 

15. THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE 

(2 Samuel 4 : 4; 9 : 1-13) 

One afternoon, long ago, a little boy prince five years 
old, was playing with his toys in his father's palace, and 
his nurse was watching him. Suddenly a messenger ran 
up to the house and rushed in, bearing the sad news that a 
terrible battle had been fought between the Hebrews and 
the Philistines in which King Saul and the little prince's 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT I37 

father, Jonathan, David's friend, had been slain. " Yes," 
he said, " Saul and Jonathan are dead ! Flee for your 
lives ! " The nurse picked up the little boy in her 
arms to carry him away quickly, when, in her haste and 
fright, she stumbled and fell. In the fall the little boy's 
ankles were broken, and ever after he was a helpless 
cripple. The little lame prince was hidden away in a 
friend's house so safely that almost everybody supposed 
the Philistine soldiers must have slain him too. A few 
years afterward, David said : " Is there yet any left of 
the family of Saul that I may show the kindness of God 
to him for Jonathan's sake ? " One of the servants said, 
" Jonathan hath yet a son who is lame in both his feet." 
" Bring him to me," said David ; and when he was before 
the king, David said: " Fear not; for I will surely show 
kindness to you for Jonathan, your father's sake. I will 
give you his farm lands ; and you shall eat at my table 
as one of my own sons." So David's friendship for 
Jonathan was shown to this lame prince who was crip- 
pled in both his feet, and whose name was Mephibbsheth. 

16. THE BABIES AND THE WISE JUDGE 

(I Kings 3) 

One night a King was sleeping, and in his sleep he 
dreamed that God came to him and said, " Ask what I 
shall give thee." He said, " Give me a wise heart to 
judge the people justly in all things." God said to him: 
" Because you have not asked for riches, or long life, 
or the death of your enemies, but have asked for a heart 
of wisdom, I will give you a wise heart, and riches, and 
long life if you will obey me." 

The young King awoke ; and it was a dream. But he 
became one of the richest and wisest of the kings of the 
earth to rule and to judge his people. One day two 



138 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

mothers came to him, each bringing a baby boy, but one 
was dead and one was alive. One mother said : " O 
king, judge my case ! We two mothers live in one house. 
One night this woman's baby boy died, and she came into 
my room and stole my little baby boy away, and put 
her dead baby boy in its place while I was sleeping. In 
the morning, there beside me in my bed was her dead 
baby." The other woman said, " No, no, the living is my 
son, and the dead is your son." The King said to his 
servants, " Go quickly, and bring me a sword ! " They 
brought a sword. The King said, " Divide the living 
baby in two, and give half to one and half to the other." 
The mother whose the living child was cried out to the 
King, " O my lord, give her the living child ; do not slay 
it ! " But the other said, " Yes, divide it." Then the King 
knew which was the real mother and said, " Give her the 
living child ; she is his mother." All the people heard of 
this, and they said, " King Solomon is the wisest man 
that ever lived to rule wisely and to judge justly." 

17. THE LITTLE BOY KING 

(2 Kings 11) 

There were troublous times in a king's palace when a 
little prince was born. He was only two months old when 
his father, the king, was killed in battle and this little 
baby boy had to be hidden away by his aunt in a store- 
room in the sacred temple to save his life. For seven 
years he was hidden there and very few knew that the 
little boy, who should be the king, was alive. His grand- 
mother, a very wicked and cruel woman, Athaliah, be- 
came queen. She first ordered all the royal children she 
could find to be put to death and then she did many 
such cruel and evil things so that her people became 
worse and worse. After seven long years, one day a 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT I39 

good man in the temple told five brave captains his 
secret, and showed them the young king and asked their 
help to crown him king in the place of the wicked, cruel 
grandmother. They promised. Soon many other soldiers 
came to know the secret, and on a day they decided 
upon, these men armed themselves with swords and 
spears and shields, and gathered in the temple to crown 
the little boy king. His granduncle, the high priest, 
brought him out from his hiding-place, set him upon a 
high platform, put a little crown of gold upon his head, 
while all the men clapped their hands and cried, " Long 
live the king ! " When the queen-grandmother heard the 
shouts she came to the temple and looked in, and behold, 
there was the little boy king standing on the platform 
with the crown upon his head and all the captains and 
guards and trumpeters and people rejoicing and blowing 
trumpets. The queen tore her clothes in anger and 
cried out, " Treason ! Treason ! " But all her soldiers 
and people were sick and tired of her cruel reign. So the 
captains seized her, led her out of the temple, and slew 
her near the horse-gate of her palace. So this little boy 
only seven years old was crowned king because he was 
of the family of King David and because God took care 
of him in his hiding-place during all those seven long 
years. He reigned as King of Judah many, many years, 
doing great good for God and for his people. His name 
was Joash. 

18. THE WOMAN WHO SHARED HER LAST LOAF 

(i Kings 17) 

In a land where no rain had fallen for long months the 
grass and flowers were withered, the fruit trees were 
dead, the grain-fields and gardens were hardened and 
parched, and the streams were almost dried up. In the 



140 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

time of this fearful famine a poor woman looked into 
her jar of flour and cruse of oil, and saw that they were 
almost empty. She said : " There is just enough flour to 
make one more little cake, and just enough oil to mix it. 
I will go and gather a few sticks and bake this little cake 
for my boy and myself, and we will eat it and die." She 
went out to gather the sticks, when she heard some 
one speak. She looked up and saw a strange man 
standing near. He was tired and worn and dusty, as 
though he had been walking many miles in the hot sun. 
He said to her, " Fetch me, I pray you, a little water, that 
I may drink." She forgot for a moment how hungry 
and sad she was, and started at once toward her house to 
get the water for him, when he called to her, " Bring 
me, I pray you, a morsel of bread in your hand." She 
turned back with a sigh and said : " O sir, truly I have 
not a cake ; I have only a handful of meal in the jar, and 
a little oil in the cruse; and now I am gathering two 
sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my boy 
that we may eat it and die." The man said : " Fear not ; 
go and do as you have said, but make me a little cake 
first, and bring it out here to me, and afterward make a 
cake for yourself and your boy. For Jehovah, the God 
of Israel says, ' The jar of meal shall not be empty, 
neither shall the little bottle of oil be empty, until it 
rains upon the earth.' " 

She stood and looked at this strange man with his 
strange request — to share her very last piece of bread. 
She did not know who he was, nor who the God was he 
spoke of ; she only knew that this man with the tired face 
was hungry too, and he had not even one piece of bread, 
and she said to herself, " I will share what we have with 
him." She went back into her kitchen, kindled the fire 
with the sticks, scraped the last bit of flour from the jar, 
and poured in the last drop of oil from the cruse ; but, 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT I4I 

when she had taken out enough for the little cake and 
looked into the jar and cruse, there was just as much 
flour and oil as before. She made the cake, took it to 
Elijah, God's wonderful prophet, and she, and he, and 
her son had plenty to eat from the jar of meal that did 
not empty and the cruse of oil that did not fail all the 
days of that famine. And it all came about because that 
good woman, though hungry herself, was willing to share 
the little she had with another who was in need. 

Is thy cruse of comfort failing? Rise and share it with another. 
And through all the years of famine it shall serve thee and thy 

brother. 
Love divine will fill thy storehouse, or thy handful will renew ; 
Scanty fare for one will often make a royal feast for two. 
For the heart grows rich in giving ; all its wealth is living grain ; 
Seeds, which mildew in the garner, scattered, fill with gold the 

plain. 
Is thy heart a living power? Self-entwined its strength sinks low; 
It can only live by loving, and by serving love must grow. 

— Elisabeth Rundle Charles. 

19, THE SLAVE-GIRL WHO HELPED A GREAT CAPTAIN 

(2 Kings 5) 

One day a sweet-faced little girl was playing in her 
home as happy as any little girl could be, all unconscious 
that a cruel battle was being fought. Suddenly some sol- 
diers came and seized this little girl and carried her away 
with other prisoners to a far-off land where she was sold 
and became a slave-girl in the house of a great captain. 
She had to do errands for his wife and wait upon her, 
and do anything she asked. Often when this little girl 
was in her mistress's room she saw big tears run down her 
cheeks, and a sad look come upon her face. One day she 
found out what made the tears. Captain Naaman was a 
leper. That was a terrible disease in his flesh which no 



142 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

doctor could cure. The little girl had often seen Captain 
Naaman. She thought he looked so fine in his rich uni- 
form as he rode away in a chariot with prancing horses. 
She knew that the king of that land had made him cap- 
tain over all his soldiers because he was so brave. " But 
he is a leper, he has leprosy — how sad ! " she kept saying 
to herself; " how I wish I could help him! " 

One day a thought flashed into her mind that made her 
eyes sparkle with joy. She knew in her own land there 
was a great and good man named Elisha who had done 
many wonderful things in helping people. She said, " I 
am sure he could make Captain Naaman well." She 
could hardly wait to be sent for to do another errand, 
she was so eager to tell her mistress about Elisha. At last 
the call came, and as soon as she went into her mistress's 
room, she said, " There is a good man in my land, Elisha, 
who could heal my master." The mistress looked at her 
and said, " Tell me, daughter, tell me what you mean ! 
Who is Elisha ? " And the little girl told her all about 
the wonderful things the prophet had done. When Cap- 
tain Naaman came home his wife told him what the little 
girl had said. The captain went to the palace and told 
the king, who said, " I will send a letter to the King 
of Israel ; get ready to go." So Captain Naaman started, 
riding in a beautiful chariot, drawn by prancing horses, 
the king's servants riding beside him, carrying gifts of 
gold and silver and beautiful clothes which the king was 
sending as presents to the King of Israel. Every one 
looked as they rode away. The little girl was the most 
excited of all. At last Captain Naaman and his soldiers 
and chariot stopped at the door of the little house of 
Elisha, but the prophet did not even come out to see 
Naaman's fine things, but simply sent a messenger to 
him, saying, " Go and wash in the river Jordan seven 
times and thy flesh shall come again to thee^ and thou 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT I43 

shalt be clean." Naaman was angry and started to go 
back home as much a leper as he had come. But when 
his servants reasoned with him and persuaded him to 
do what the prophet said, he went down to the river Jor- 
dan, and dipped himself — once, twice, thrice, four times, 
five times, six times, seven times — when lo ! his rough, 
red skin became soft and smooth as the skin of a little 
baby. Naaman was so pleased that he hurried back to 
the little house of the prophet to reward him, but not a 
thing would Elisha take from him. Then the captain 
hastened back to his own land and home. His wife and 
the little girl saw him coming. Up the street he rode 
and stopped in front of the beautiful house. " He is 
well ! He is well ! " cried the little girl. Then she knew 
a little girl can indeed be a great helper. 

20. FOUR COLLEGE BOYS WHO KEPT STRONG 

(Daniel i) 

Four boys, who were great friends, were taken from 
their homes and carried far away into a great city in a 
foreign land to live among strangers. One day the King 
ordered his officers to select from among the Jewish cap- 
tive boys four of the brightest, and these four boys were 
chosen and brought into the King's palace to be educated 
for three years in the King's college for royal service. 
Thinking it a great honor to them, and that it would 
make them strong, the King ordered that these boys 
should be given a daily supply of the rich food and wine, 
such as he and all his military cadets received. But the 
very first time the silver tray, with all of these dainties, 
was brought to these four college boys, one of them, 
whose name was Daniel, said to the officer who took charge 
of them, " Please let us not have this rich food and 
wine, but have plainer food." The officer laughed and 



144 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

said : " I am afraid that if you do not eat this rich food 
your faces will become thinner than those of the other 
college students, and then the King will cut off my 
head ! " But Daniel said : " Try us ten days. Give us 
only vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then look 
at our faces and the faces of the other boys that eat the 
King's rich food and drink his wine, and see." The 
officer said he would try them for ten days. He did so, 
and at the end of that time their faces were fatter and 
rosier, their bodies plumper, and their minds clearer, 
stronger, and brighter than all the other boys. At the 
end of the three college years, the King sat upon a golden 
throne, and all the students were brought before him, and 
he saw that these four were stronger than all the rest, 
and that they knew ten times as much as the magicians 
and astrologers in all his kingdom. So Daniel, Shadrach, 
Meshach, and Abednego, these four friends who were 
true to their principle, showed after all that they kept 
their health and were stronger and better by going with- 
out the rich food and the royal wine. 

21. FOUR FRIENDS IN THE FIERY FURNACE 

(Daniel 3) 

It was a wonderful sight to see the King's golden 
image which he had set up in the great plain. The King 
was a worshiper of images of wood and stone, and he 
sent forth his herald with a loud trumpet to cry aloud: 
" To you it is commanded, O people, nations and Ian-" 
guages, that when ye hear the sound of the instru- 
ments of music, ye shall fall down and worship the golden 
image that Nebuchadnezzar, the King, hath set up; and 
whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, shall the same 
hour be cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace." 
From all the country and provinces around people came 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT I45 

to see this great image and to worship, and at the sound 
of the instruments of music all fell down and prayed to 
it, except three young men who stood upright looking 
before them, without bowing their heads or knees to the 
golden image. These were the three Hebrews, Shadrach, 
Meshach, and Abednego, the friends of Daniel, who must 
have been away on a journey at that time. When this 
was told to the King he was very angry and ordered 
them at once to worship his image or be cast into the 
furnace, which they saw in front of them glowing with 
a terrible fire. They said to the King : " Our God is able 
to save us from your fiery furnace, and he will save us. 
But if he does not, be it known unto you, O King, we 
will not worship the golden image you have set up, or 
serve your gods of gold." The King was more angry, and 
ordered his strong men to make the fiery furnace seven 
times hotter and cast these three friends into the midst 
of it. But they were not afraid though they were tied 
with ropes and cast into the fire, which was so hot the 
flames leaped out and burned up the men who threw 
them into it. The King was sitting where he could look 
right into the furnace. A few moments after, he sprang 
up greatly astonished and cried : " Look, look ; did we 
not cast three friends into the furnace? Lo, I see four 
men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they 
are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son 
of God ! " The King ran to the mouth of the furnace, 
crying, " Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, ye servants of 
the Most High God, come out ! " And they came out 
of the fire, and not a hair of their heads was singed, nor 
were their coats scorched, nor was there even the smell 
of burning on them. And it all came about because these 
three friends were loyal to the one true God, who had 
sent the other Friend, " the form of the fourth," to de- 
liver them out of the burning fiery furnace. 

K 



146 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

22. THE MAN WHO WAS NOT AFRAID TO PRAY 

(Daniel 6) 

Daniel was the man who dared to stand alone in work, 
in worship, and in play. He could be trusted in every- 
thing. Because he was so industrious, faithful, and 
thoughtful, the new King promoted him to be next to 
him in rule over all the land. The other officers were 
jealous and set plans for his downfall. They persuaded 
the King, Darius, to sign this law : " Whosoever shall pray 
to any god or to man for thirty days, save to thee, O 
King, he shall be cast into the den of lions." The King 
was delighted to think of every one in the city praying 
to him just as if he were a great god, so he signed this 
wicked law. Daniel knew what these evil men would do, 
but when the time came at noonday for him to pray, he 
went straight to his home, opened wide his windows 
toward his old home in Jerusalem, as he was accustomed 
to do, and knelt down and prayed and gave thanks to his 
God. That night he did the same thing. He could have 
waited until he was in bed where none could see him say 
his prayers. Or he could have left his window closed. 
But he was not afraid of the King or his officers. They 
were watching down the street, like detectives peeking 
from behind the corners perhaps, and when they saw 
Daniel pray they hurried to the King and told him. 
Darius loved Daniel and was sorry he had signed the 
law, but as the laws of that land could not be changed, he 
said that Daniel must die. So Daniel was brought to the 
great cave of the hungry, roaring lions. The cage was 
opened at the top and Daniel was thrown right down into 
the midst of the wild animals. The King was sad and 
said, " Daniel, your God will deliver you ! " Then the 
King went back to his palace, but he was so sad he 
could not eat nor hear music. All night long he thought 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT I47 

of Daniel, how good and useful he had been, and how 
cruelly treated. Early in the morning he arose, hurried 
to the cave, looked in, and there was Daniel — alive and 
well. The King cried out, " O Daniel, servant of the 
Hving God, has your God delivered you from the lions? " 
" Yes," answered Daniel, " my God has sent his angel 
to shut the lions' mouths, and they have not hurt me." 
The King was glad. He called his servants to come and 
take Daniel out of the den. When he was drawn out 
there was found not even a scratch upon him. The King 
said, " Bring those mean and jealous men, who tried to 
kill Daniel, and cast them into the den." So they were 
caught and cast into the den, and so hungry were the 
lions that before the men reached the floor of the den the 
beasts had seized them and were crunching their bones 
to pieces. Then the King made a new law that all in his 
kingdom should pray to Daniel's God, who had delivered 
him out of the lions' den, and who had given him the 
power to dare to stand and to pray alone. 

23. THE GOLDEN SCEPTER IN THE PALACE OF THE LILY 

(Book of Esther) 

Once a King gave a great feast in his Palace of the 
Lily to all his people. They drank wine from cups of 
gold in the garden court of the palace which was paved 
with red marble and mother of pearl. On the seventh 
day of the feast, being drunk with wine, the King ordered 
his officers to bring out Queen Vashti in her royal robes 
that the princes and people might look at her, for she 
was very beautiful. She refused. So the King said she 
should be cast out of the Palace of the Lily, and another 
Queen chosen in her place — the most beautiful woman 
they could find. One was chosen whose name was Esther, 
a captive in Persia. Her father and mother were dead. 



148 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

and her cousin, Mordecai, had brought her up as his 
own daughter. He was a proud old man who always did 
what was right, and so he displeased many persons, 
among whom was Haman, the ruler next to the King. 
Because Mordecai would not bow down to him, Haman 
planned to kill the stern old man and with him all the 
Jews in the land. He persuaded the King to give a com- 
mand that on a certain day all Jews, young and old, 
women and little children, should be slain. There was 
great distress among the Jews, but Haman was happy 
with the King, drinking wine and talking over his great 
decree. Esther did not know what had happened until 
she saw her cousin weeping, and then he told her that 
her life was in danger too, unless she went to the King 
and pleaded for her people. She said : " Every one knows 
that whoever goes before the King into the inner court, 
who is not called, is put to death, unless the King holds 
out his golden scepter, and for the last thirty days the 
King has not called me." 

Mordecai replied : " Do not think you will escape ! No, 
if you fail us now, safety will come by others, but you 
will perish; and who knows whether you are not come 
to the kingdom for such a time as this ? " 

Then Esther said : " Go, gather together all the Jews 
and pray three days and three nights for me, and I will 
go before the King, and if I perish, I perish ! " At the 
end of three days she put on her royal robes, went into 
the inner court, and stood opposite the King as he sat 
on his throne. When he saw her he held out his golden 
scepter, and said, " What is your wish. Queen Esther ? 
Speak and you shall have it to the half of my kingdom ! " 
She said, " May it please the King to come to-day with 
Haman to a banquet that I have prepared." At the 
banquet the King again asked her wish, and she said, " If 
it please the King, come again to-morrow to a banquet 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT I49 

with Haman." Haman was delighted as he went home 
and told his wife and friends about his good fortune; 
but he said, " I am unhappy as long as Mordecai refuses 
to bow down to me ! " They said, " Build a gallows, and 
ask the King to let Mordecai be hanged on it." He did 
so. But that same night the King read in the book of 
golden deeds how true Mordecai had been to a former 
King, and he knew that this service had never been re- 
warded. When Haman came in the King said, " What 
shall be done to the man whom the King delights to 
honor ? " Thinking it must be himself the King meant, 
he said : " Let royal apparel be given him and a royal 
horse, and a royal crown, and bid him ride through the 
city for the people to honor." The King said, " Then 
make haste and do all this for Mordecai." This he had to 
do. And when he went to the Queen's banquet he was 
not happy. The King said : " What is your wish. Queen 
Esther? Speak and I will give it, to the half of my 
kingdom." She said: "O King, let my life and my 
people's life be given me; for we are sold, I and my 
people, to be slain and to perish." The King said, " Who 
is he ? where is he that dares to do so ? " Esther pointed 
to Haman, and said, " There he is, this wicked Haman ! " 
Haman was afraid, and pleaded with the Queen to ask 
the King to spare his life, but the King said, " Hang him 
on the gallows that he built for Mordecai." This was done 
at once, and when Haman was dead Mordecai was put 
into his place next to the king, and all the people rejoiced. 
So Queen Esther, to whom the King extended the golden 
scepter in the Palace of the Lily, saved all her people, the 
Jews, that day and they lived in peace and prosperity. 



VII 

BIBLE STORIES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT 
(Adapted for Children, Six to Twelve Years.) 

I. THE FIRST CHRISTMAS DAY 

(Luke 2) 

ONE starry night, in a grassy field outside a little 
village, a company of shepherds were watching their 
sheep that were fast asleep. The men were talking to- 
gether of the wonderful Saviour-King who had been so 
long promised to the world. Suddenly a bright light 
shone around them and, in a moment a beautiful angel 
appeared and stood near them. The shepherds were 
afraid and fell on their knees, while the angel said : 
" Fear not ; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great 
joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born 
this day, in the City of David, a Saviour, who is Christ, 
the Lord." As they listened the angel continued, " This 
shall be your sign ; ye shall find a Babe wrapped in swad- 
dling clothes, and lying in a manger." Just then the 
light changed to a soft rose-color, and angels of white — 
a great multitude — filled all the sky singing the glad song, 
** Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and 
good will to men." It was the sweetest song ears ever 
heard. Soon it ceased, the angels of white went back to 
heaven, and the light faded away. " Let us go at once 
and see this new-born child ! " the shepherds said one to 
another. So they left their sheep in care of one shepherd 
and hastened to the town. There they found the little 
150 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT I5I 

Babe in a stable, wrapped in coarse clothes and lying in a 
manger. By his side was Mary, his mother, and Joseph. 
They knelt down beside the manger, looked into the wide- 
open eyes of the Christ-Child, and told Mary and Joseph 
of the wonderful light, and of the song and sign of the 
angels. It was morning when the shepherds went back 
to their sheep, but they never tired of telling that the 
Christ-Child was born, and that the angels had said he 
should bring " peace on earth and good will to men." 
That was the first Christmas Day. 

2. THE WISE MEN AND THE STAR 

(Matthew 2) 

In other lands besides the one in which the Christ- 
Child was born, good men often talked together of the 
promise of his coming to the world. One night, in a far- 
away land, a wise man who liked to study the stars, 
was looking up into the sky, and saw a star he had never 
seen before. " There is the star of the Christ-Child ! " 
he cried ; " I will go and find him and take him a gift of 
gold ! " So he mounted his camel and started. Soon he 
met another man riding a camel. This man said, " Where 
are you going? " " I have seen the star of the Christ- 
Child,'* he said, " and I am going to find him." " I saw 
the star too, and I will go with you," said the man ; " I 
shall give him a gift of my sweetest incense." Soon they 
met a third man riding on a camel. " I too," he said, 
" saw this wonderful star, and am seeking the Child- 
King. I have for him a gift of myrrh, my most precious 
perfume ! " So they journeyed together — on and on — 
ever following the star until they came at last to the 
little town of Bethlehem, and the star stood shining over 
the little house. 

" Ike ! Ike ! " each traveler shouted to his camel. This 



152 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

meant " Kneel ; kneel ! " The camels slowly knelt down ; 
each man put his foot on his camel's neck, stepped upon 
the ground, and went into the house, where they saw the 
young child and fell down and worshiped him. Then 
they opened their bags and gave for the Star-Child their 
best gifts, of gold, and frankincense, and myrrh, such as 
were given only to kings. Some time after they returned 
home to their study of the stars again, but they never for- 
got the star that led them to the Child-King who was born 
to bring to the world " peace and good will, good will and 
peace." 

3. WHEN JESUS WAS A BOY 

(An Imaginary Sketch.) 
(Luke 2 : 40, 52.) 

When Jesus was a boy he lived in a little country town, 
called Nazareth. It was a beautiful place, with little 
white stone houses, and little narrow streets; high green 
hills rising above it; many gardens full of bright flow- 
ers — roses, tulips, lilies, orchids, and wild geraniums; 
orchards of fig trees, olive trees, and orange trees ; cooing 
doves and other birds flitting here and there on the house- 
tops and among the trees ; and in the center of the town 
there was a fountain from which water was carried by 
the people to their homes in large stone jars borne on the 
shoulder. 

The house in which Jesus lived had only one room with 
a dirt floor. It had no window except a hole in the 
wall ; no bedstead, no chair, no pictures, no looking-glass. 
The people in these poor, houses ate their meals from a 
low bench or shelf as they sat or reclined upon the floor 
or upon cushions. They slept upon quilts spread on the 
floor at night and neatly folded up by day. The only 
furniture was a chest or cupboard on one side of the 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT 1 53 

room, where they kept their best clothes. Near the door 
stood the jar of water for drinking, cooking, and cleans- 
ing. 

When Jesus was a boy he wore a bright, red coat with 
long sleeves and tied around his waist with a sash of 
different colors. When he was very little he wore no 
shoes or stockings. Later he wore little sandals. Sandals 
were taken off when people entered a house. Perhaps it 
was easier for a boy then to take off his sandals than to 
wipe his shoes on the door-mat as boys should do now. 
But these boys had to wash their feet as they came in- 
doors, and perhaps that would be harder for a boy who 
doesn't like to wash even his hands when he comes into 
the house now. 

When Jesus was five years old he began to attend the 
village school with other boys. After school was over 
he loved to play games with the other boys around the 
village fountain or upon the level place on the hillside. 
He played " funeral " and " wedding " and many games 
such as boys play now. He used to climb to the top of the 
green hills gathering wildflowers, watching the birds, 
and perhaps sometimes he would chase the butterflies, but 
if he caught them he would never hurt them. He helped 
his mother feed the doves and the chickens, often laugh- 
ing heartily as he saw the chicks run to hide under the 
mother's wings. 

Every Sabbath he went to the village synagogue, which 
was the same place as the day-school. He listened at- 
tentively to the minister reading and explaining the Bible. 
After the synagogue service all the children stayed to 
the Bible school. All the children sat on the dirt floor 
and listened to the Old Testament read and explained. 
Boys, like Jesus, were glad to learn a great deal of the 
Bible by heart and then to repeat it from memory. 

Jesus' father, Joseph, was the village carpenter. He 



154 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

made and repaired stools, mangers, plows, yokes, and 
such things for the home and farm. Jesus doubtless 
loved to be in the carpenter shop, helping Joseph by 
bringing saw and hammer, holding a board, and learning 
all he could. Jesus and Joseph were chums and partners, 
always trying to help each other. We may imagine that 
one day Jesus saw an Arab in the village making a tent. 
When Jesus got home he said, " I would like to have a 
tent." So Joseph helped him, and he soon learned to 
smooth and sharpen the pegs, sew cloth together, and 
when at last the tent was finished and put out in the 
garden, no boy was ever happier lying under his own 
tent that his own hands had made, than Jesus was. One 
day, perhaps, Joseph took Jesus over to the lake, where 
they went fishing. What fun that was to Jesus, as well 
as the rowing and sailing and swimming in the lake! 
When he got home he said, " Let us make a little boat 
for little brother." So they made a nice boat and gave 
it as a plaything to amuse his little brother. 

Often his mother called, " Jesus, please get some water 
in the jars." Jesus started on the minute. He never 
said, " Oh pshaw ! ask brother ! " or " I don't want to ! " or 
" Wait a minute! " No, Jesus went at once, and more 
often saw what was wanted to be done and did it without 
waiting to be told. 

Jesus was the kind of boy that helps everybody. So 
everybody liked Jesus. He studied his lessons well. He 
always played fair with the boys. He was kind and lov- 
ing and good to all. He loved everybody, and everything 
he did he did with his whole heart and tried to do well. 

In the evening his father and mother often gathered 
the children together and told them the beautiful stories 
from the Bible — and Jesus loved especially those about 
Abraham and Joseph and Samuel and David and Daniel. 

So when Jesus was a boy he was a real boy — a perfect 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT I55 

boy, the best thinking, feeling, speaking, acting boy the 
world ever saw, just the kind of boy that God wants 
every boy to be, " growing in body, in mind, in soul, 
and in favor with God and man." 



4. WHEN JESUS WAS LOST 

(Luke 2 : 41-52) 

One morning when Jesus lived in the little white stone 
house in Nazareth, his father, Joseph, said : " Jesus, you 
are now twelve years old. You are to go to the feast in 
Jerusalem with us this year." This made Jesus very 
happy. He had been looking forward a long time to the 
day when he could go to the great city of Jerusalem that 
was to him the most sacred and most wonderful city in 
the world. So, when the morning to start came, Jesus 
was ready. When they started there were great throngs 
of people from different towns and lands going up to the 
feast, traveling together and crowding the roads. The 
women and aged men rode on donkeys, or mules, or 
horses, or camels. The men walked by their side, staff in 
hand. The boys ran on before or played by the side 
of the road. These great caravans of people slowly 
traveled together as far as they could by day and rested 
at night in tents or booths. The boys had tents in which 
they could sleep together, and Jesus was with the boys. 
On the fourth day, suddenly in the distance, on a hill, 
Jesus caught the first glimpse of the high towers and 
great walls of the city, and the shining roof of the temple 
and palaces. The people cried out, " Jerusalem ! Jeru- 
salem ! " singing psalms of joy together, accompanied by 
music of various instruments, as they journeyed onward. 
Soon they reached the city. It was a new and wonderful 
world to Jesus, this wondrous boy of twelve years old, 
who had lived in the country and had never seen a large 



156 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

city before. He opened his eyes wide to see the crowded 
streets, the marble palaces, the strong towers, and then the 
temple courts and buildings. He saw the bright robes of 
the priests. He saw the smoking altars and their bleed- 
ing sacrifices of oxen and lambs and doves. He stood in 
front of the great blue veil of the holy of holies and 
wondered what was within. He knew this was his heav- 
enly Father's house, and he liked to be there better than 
anywhere else. He watched the daily sacrifice and all 
parts of the feast. During the seven days of the feast, 
Jesus walked about the streets looking at the stores, the 
wonderful articles for sale, the animals for sacrifice, the 
forts, the great gates, and other interesting things in 
the city, but he always liked to go back to the wonderful 
temple. 

When the feast was over, Joseph and Mary started 
toward home. But as the roads were so crowded, espe- 
cially toward Nazareth, with the thousands of returning 
pilgrims, his parents, supposing he was in the company, 
did not discover that he was missing until they pitched 
their tents at the close of their first short day's travel. 
Jesus was lost. They searched everywhere and asked 
everybody they met, and when they could not find him 
they were greatly worried, fearing that King Herod 
might have caught him and put him to death. They 
hurried back to the city very early the next morning and 
searched everywhere for the missing boy but could learn 
nothing of him. At last, on the third day, they went into 
one of the side rooms of the temple, a room where the 
teachers and wise men met, and there was Jesus in the 
center of a group of white-bearded teachers, listening 
earnestly to what they said, and asking them harder ques- 
tions than they had ever heard before. Mary said: 
" Jesus, my son, why hast thou thus dealt with us ? Be- 
hold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing." 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT 1 57 

Jesus replied : " Mother, how is it that you sought me ? 
Did you not think that I would be here, in my Father's 
house ? " While Jesus had been at the feast during those 
seven days he had found out what every boy and girl 
sooner or later must find out, what he is to do and to be 
in the world. But though Jesus now knew what he was 
to be and do, yet at once he said to the great teachers, 
" Good-bye," and went back with his parents to Nazareth, 
a cheerful, obedient Jewish boy. 

And in all that land no son was ever so thoughtful, so 
kind, so loving, and so helpful to his parents and to his 
brothers and sisters, as was this noble boy and young 
man, whom his neighbors knew as Jesus, the young car- 
penter of Nazareth. 

5. WHEN JESUS LEFT HIS CARPENTER SHOP 

(Mark i : i-ii) 

When Jesus was the young carpenter in Nazareth he 
was the best carpenter of all the land. The children, pass- 
ing by, liked to peep in at the open door of his shop and 
see him at work with his saw or hammer, making or re- 
pairing a stool, or a chest, a manger, a plow, or a yoke. 
He smiled sweetly at the children and spoke kind words 
to them, so that the children of Nazareth loved him in 
return. But one day as Jesus was standing beside his 
bench, with the shavings at his feet and his carpenter's 
tools about him, he knew that very soon he must leave 
that shop and go into the towns and cities where there 
were other things for him to mend than stools and chests 
and mangers and plows and yokes. At last, one evening, 
when the shadows lengthened, he went into his carpenter's 
shop and hung up his hammer, his saw, his adz, and each 
of his carpenter's tools, shut the door of his shop, said 
" Good-bye " to his mother and his brothers and sisters 



158 WORLD STORIES KETOLD 

and friends in Nazareth, and early next morning started 
on a long walk over the hills and valleys toward the river 
Jordan. 

A strange preacher named John, the Baptizer, had come 
out of the wilderness to the banks of the river Jordan, 
preaching that everybody should repent of his sins and 
prepare for the coming of God's Son by being baptized 
in the river, confessing his sins. John was dressed in a 
rough coat made of camel's hair, and had lived in the 
desert eating nothing but honey and an insect, something 
like a grasshopper, called a locust. But thousands of 
people came to listen to this strange preacher of the 
desert and to be baptized. 

One "kfternoon, as a great crowd was around him, John 
suddenly stopped in his preaching, and looking at a man 
coming near, he cried, " Look, there is God's Son ! " All 
eyes were turned toward the quiet and gentle form of 
Jesus, who walked forward and said to John, " I would 
like to be baptized." John drew back, and said, " Oh, no, 
no ! You should baptize me, rather than that I should 
baptize you." But when Jesus said, " It is God's will," 
John took hold of his hand and together John and Jesus 
slowly stepped out on the pebbly shore, and walked into 
the river, with every eye upon them. Standing out in the 
water, Jesus prayed. Then John baptized Jesus. And 
as Jesus came up out of the water, suddenly the sky 
seemed to open, and a beautiful snow-white dove flew 
down and rested upon the head of Jesus. Then a Voice 
from heaven was heard that said, " This is my beloved 
Son, in whom I am well pleased." 

This was the announcement that Jesus was the Son of 
God and the Saviour of the world. It meant that Jesus 
would return to the carpenter shop no more. No more 
would the farmer bring his plow for Jesus to repair. No 
more would the housemother bring her stool to Jesus 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT I59 

to mend. In vain would the children passing by his shop 
look in at the open door to see his pleasant smile or hear 
his kind voice. The saw and the hammer and the adz 
were for other hands now. Jesus had entered upon his 
great task of mending and healing human hearts and 
lives, of bringing " Peace on earth, good will to men," 
a task in which every one who loves him and is like him 
may still share a part. 

6. WHEN JESUS WON HIS GREAT VICTORY 

(Matthew 4 : i-ii) 

When Jesus was a boy and a young man in Nazareth, he 
was sometimes tempted to do wrong things or to do right 
things in a wrong way. But he had decided always to 
do what pleased God, his heavenly Father, and so he 
met every temptation to do wrong with a firm " No ! " 
which each time won him a new victory, as it will with 
any one. 

Immediately after his baptism in the river Jordan 
Jesus was tempted more than ever before because his 
baptism was the beginning of his public life as the Son 
of God and Saviour of men. Satan, the tempter, said, " I 
will make him do something that will not please God ! " 
So, far off in the desert, where Jesus withdrew to plan 
the best way to begin his life-work, and when he had 
fasted for forty days and was very hungry, Satan came to 
Jesus in some strange form and said, " If thou art the 
Son of God, command that these stones become bread." 
He pointed to some round, smooth stones lying near that 
looked very much like loaves. Jesus knew that he could 
command them to become bread, but he said : " No, God 
does not want me to use my power for myself, but for 
others. It is better to obey God and do right than even to 
get bread when one is hungry. God says in his word, 



l6o WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

' Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word 
that comes from the mouth of God.' " So Jesus refused 
to do what Satan said to satisfy his hunger, and won the 
first inning of his great victory. 

The tempter tried another plan. He seemed to take 
Jesus suddenly to one of the highest towers of the temple 
in Jerusalem where he said : " If thou art the Son of God, 
cast yourself down and surprise the people, for God's 
word says, ' He will give his angels charge over thee, and 
they shall bear thee up in their hands lest thou dash thy 
foot against a stone.' " Jesus knew that he could easily 
do this, but he said : " No, the angels of God only take 
care of God's children when they do right in a right way 
to please him. It is written in God's word, * Thou shalt 
not tempt the Lord thy God.' " So he refused the 
tempter, and won the second inning of his great victory. 

The tempter tried a third time. He seemed to carry 
Jesus up into a very high mountain, from which he could 
see the whole world and all the glory of it. Satan said : 
" All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down 
and worship me. The Jews want a Sword-King. Be- 
come a Sword-King and lead them out to fight their ene- 
mies, and you will win, for I will help you." 

" Get thee hence, Satan," cried Jesus immediately, " for 
it is written in God's word, ' Thou shalt worship the Lord 
thy God, and him only shalt thou worship.' " Jesus re- 
fused to be Satan's Sword-King, and chose to be God's 
kind of king, a Peace-King. So Jesus won the third 
inning of his great victory. 

Then Satan left Jesus. God's angels brought him food 
to sustain him and encouragement to revive him. And 
Jesus was stronger still to do always those things that 
pleased his heavenly Father, who would give him help to 
win other victories through life, as he had helped him to 
win this first great victory. 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT l6l 
7. THE children's FRIEND 

(Matthew 19 : 13-15) 

One day a great crowd of men gathered about Jesus, 
the great Teacher. All sorts of men were there — rich 
men and poor men ; soldiers with their swords and spears 
and sandals; rough fishermen, barefooted, fresh come 
from their boats and nets; and priests dressed in their 
long, white robes with colored fringes. 

Suddenly, as the great Teacher was speaking, at the 
farther edge of the crowd a noise was heard. Some 
women and children were trying to get near to Jesus. 
These women wore red and blue dresses with handker- 
chiefs tied over their heads, which showed they were 
poor women from the little white stone houses. Some 
were carrying their babies, some were holding their little 
ones by the hand, and others were followed by large boys 
and girls clinging to their mothers' skirts. All were 
trying to press nearer to Jesus who was talking earnestly 
to the people. Soon some of the close friends of Jesus 
noticed these women with their children, and said: 
" Women, do you not see how busy Jesus is ? He has 
grown-up people to talk to, and has no time for you and 
your children. Take them away ; carry them home where 
they belong ! " 

Jesus heard what his friends said, and cried out : " Do 
not send the children away. Suffer the little children to 
come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the 
kingdom of heaven." There were so many of them — 
mothers and their children, little babies, small children, 
young boys, and girls ! Jesus received them all. He let 
them all come near him. He took the babies in his arms. 
He laid his hands on the heads of the little children. 
He put his loving arms around the larger boys and girls. 
And he blessed them all. It may be he told them some 
L 



1 62 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

beautiful stories, for we may be sure that the boys and 
girls then loved to hear stories as well as the children do 
to-day. 

So Jesus was the friend of the children! No wonder 
children like to sing: 

I think when I read that sweet story of old 

When Jesus was here among men, 
How he called little children as lambs to the fold, 

I should like to have been with them then. 

I wish that his hands had been placed on my head. 
That his arms had been thrown around me, 

And that I might have seen his kind look when he said, 
" Let the little ones come unto me." 

8. THE MAID AWAKENED 

(Matthew 9 : 18-26) 

Once there was a girl twelve years of age who lived 
in a beautiful country house with her father and mother, 
who loved her dearly. Her father was one of the chief 
men of that place, a ruler, the president of Synagogue 
College, and very rich. 

One day this little girl became ill, and day by day she 
grew weaker and weaker, until everybody feared she 
would never be well again. One morning she lay very 
white and still with her eyes closed and scarcely breath- 
ing. Her father had left his business that day to sit by 
her bedside and watch her. Tears filled his eyes as he 
thought he must lose his darling daughter. All at once 
the little girl opened her eyes and seeing her father's 
tears said : " Father, there's a good man who loves chil- 
dren. I saw him one day in town, and he looked at me 
and spoke to me so kindly, I just loved him. His name is 
Jesus. He heals the sick. I think he would make me 
well." 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT 163 

The father had thought of him several times, but as 
some of his friends didn't want to have anything to 
do with him, he did not go to him. But when his 
daughter whispered, " Please, father, tell him I'm sick," 
the father determined at once to go and get him. He 
hastened to the town where he was dining in a friend's 
house. He fell at the feet of the great Teacher, crying 
out : " My little daughter is dying ! Please come quickly 
and lay your hand on the child, and she shall live ! " At 
once the Teacher arose and followed the father, a great 
crowd of people following, each person trying to get near 
him and to look up into his face or to hear his wonderful 
words. As they were on their way a poor old woman 
that had been ill as many years as the little girl had been 
on the earth, with a disease that no doctor could cure, 
came up quietly behind Jesus in the crowd. She thought, 
" If I can only touch his garment, I shall be healed." And 
as soon as she put out her finger and touched the hem 
of his garment, she felt new life, and she was healed. 
" Who touched me ? " said the great Teacher, turning 
around and looking straight at her. Then he spoke kind 
and comforting words to her. All this took so much time 
the father was worried and said, " O Sir, please hasten, 
or my little daughter will be dead before we get there ! " 
But this great man was never in a hurry, having time to 
help everybody. They were not much farther on the way 
when they saw a man running toward them. It was the 
rich man's servant, who said, " Thy daughter is dead. 
Don't trouble the Teacher any further ! " You should 
have seen the sorrow written on that poor father's face. 
Jesus saw it and said, " Do not be afraid. Only believe in 
me ! " When they reached the house the doors were wide 
open and they heard the sound of pitiful wailing and 
weeping, accompanied by the flutes and other instruments 
of mourning-minstrels, who did not feel sad, but merely 



164 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

did this because they were paid for it. " Why make ye 
this ado and weep ? " said Jesus. " The maid is not dead, 
but she is asleep ! " After Jesus had passed, these weepers 
laughed and mocked him, saying, " We know she is 
dead." 

" Come with me," said the Teacher with the gentle 
voice. Then he took the father and mother of the maid 
and three of his friends into the room where the maid 
was lying so white and still and breathless. Very tenderly 
he bent over her body, took her small white hand in his 
own warm hand, and softly said, " Little maid, arise ! " 
In a moment the rose-color came back to her pale cheeks, 
and she sat up in the bed, and threw her arms about her 
father and mother, who could scarce believe their eyes for 
joy. Then she sprang from the bed and walked, perfectly 
well. " Give the maid something to eat," said the 
Teacher. Her mother quickly gave her something to eat. 
Soon the servants prepared a feast for the great Teacher, 
and the little maid sat next to him at the table, as happy 
and as well as she could be. And she never forgot the 
name of that great Friend who awakened her from her 
sleep of death ! 

9. THE BOY WITH HIS LUNCH 

(John 6 : 1-14) 

Once there was a good boy who had a very kind- 
hearted mother. Early one morning he said, " Mother, 
I'd like to go fishing to-day." " Yes," said the mother, 
" you've been a good boy ; take your fishing-tackle, and 
here's a nice lunch for you." She put him up five little 
cakes, such as he liked, in a basket. He went down to 
the lake and fished all the morning and way into the 
afternoon, and caught only two little fish, which he held 
over a fire that he made, until the fish were cooked brown 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT 165 

and looked so good to eat. He was just about to eat 
them with his cakes, when he looked up and saw a great 
crowd of people a little distance away whom he had not 
noticed before. He wondered who they could be. So 
quickly putting his five little cakes and two fishes into 
the basket, he took it up, ran as fast as he could, and 
pressed his way to the front, where he saw a great and 
good man talking to the people so earnestly that they did 
not notice the boy. Soon he was listening as earnestly as 
any of them. When the great and good man had talked 
a long time and no one seemed tired, one of the men 
said : " I think you had better send the people home to 
get something to eat. If they stay much longer they 
will get so hungry they will faint by the way." The 
good man said, " You give them something to eat ! " The 
man laughed and said : " Why, if we bought two hundred 
dollars' worth of bread and gave each person a little, there 
would not be enough to go around." When the boy 
heard that, he said to a man he knew, " He can have my 
lunch if he wants." The man said : " There's a little lad 
here with five little cakes and two little fishes, and he says 
you can have his lunch, if you want ! " " Yes," said the 
good man, " let him bring it to me." So that good boy 
came right up in front of the great and good man and 
gave him his lunch. The good man asked God to bless it. 
Then he asked his friends to seat the boys and girls on 
the green grass in rows of fifty, and the women in rows of 
fifty, and the men in rows of a hundred. When they were 
all seated, the good man took up one of the little cakes 
and broke off a piece, and another and another and 
another; but the cake did not become smaller. He kept 
breaking it until there was a great deal of bread. Then 
he took up one of the little fishes and broke off a piece, 
then another and another and another; but the fish did 
not become smaller. He kept breaking the fish until 



1 66 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

there was plenty. Then his friends passed the cakes 
and fish around to the boys and girls. It was the sweetest 
bread and fish they had ever tasted. The boy who gave 
up his lunch had all he could eat, so did all the women 
and all the men. When they had eaten all they wished, 
there were twelve baskets full left over. And it all came 
about because that good boy was willing to share his 
lunch with the great and good man. 

10. THE DWARF IN THE MULBERRY TREE 

(Luke 19 : i-io) 

Once there was a very little man who was no bigger 
than a young boy. He was so short that some people 
called him a dwarf. He lived in a very large house, was 
very rich, and had a money-making office. But no one 
in the town liked Zaccheus, the dwarf, because he was not 
good, or kind-hearted, or honest. People said that he had 
cheated them out of money and done other bad things. 
One afternoon, as he was walking along the street, sud- 
denly he saw in the distance a great crowd of people 
coming along the main road leading into the town. The 
people were shouting excitedly, " Jesus is coming ! Jesus 
is coming ! " " How I would like to see Jesus," said the 
dwarf to himself as he ran toward the crowd and tip- 
toed, trying to catch a glimpse of the great Teacher's 
face. But he wasn't tall enough. He could see nothing 
but heads towering above him. " I know what I'll do," 
he said to himself. " I'll climb up into that mulberry tree 
near my house. Then I can see him easily." So he ran 
quickly and climbed up into the branches of the great 
tree, and waited until the crowd came close. " There he 
is! " he said to himself; " well, if I am a dwarf, no one 
can see better than I this time." 

He sat there quietly while the great procession passed 



BIBLE STOKIES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT 167 

by — ^men, women, children, and Jesus in the midst. Soon 
Jesus stopped near the tree, looked up into its branches 
and cried, " Zaccheus, make haste and come down, for I 
want to stop at your house to-night ! " Zaccheus could 
scarcely believe his ears. Was it possible that the good 
Teacher would visit him, a man so wicked, hated, and 
despised? How did Jesus know his name? How did he 
see his hiding-place in the tree ? The dwarf didn't know, 
but he hastened down at once and welcomed Jesus to his 
house. In surprise some of the people cried : " Look ! 
Jesus is going to stay with a sinner. Does he know what 
a bad man this is ? " Zaccheus gave Jesus the best room 
in his large house, and did all he could to make his visit 
comfortable. " Prepare the best feast for Jesus," he said 
to his servants. And while they were seated at the table, 
Zaccheus stood before all and said to Jesus : " Master, if 
I have taken anything from any one wrongfully, I will 
give him back four times over, and one-half of what is 
left I will give to the poor." 

Then Jesus said to all the people : " Zaccheus, whom 
you have despised and hated, is one of the children of 
my kingdom. I came into his house to help him to be 
good and kind-hearted and just. I came to seek and to 
save the lost ! " 

Zaccheus, the dwarf, never forgot that afternoon when 
Jesus found him seated up in the mulberry tree and spent 
the night at his house and loved him when everybody 
else hated and despised him. 

II. THE GOOD NEIGHBOR 

(Luke ID : 25-37) 

One day as Jesus, the great Teacher, was speaking, 
a lawyer, who really wanted to know, said, " Who is my 
neighbor?" and Jesus told him this beautiful story: 



1 68 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

Once a man was journeying over a rough and lonely 
road. A band of robbers sprang upon him, struck him 
down, stole his money and clothes and left him bleeding 
and half dead on the road. A temple-priest happened to 
pass that way, and when he saw the wounded man lying 
there he said to himself, " No one can see what I do on 
this lonely road." So he crossed over to the other side, 
looked at the beautiful scenery, and passed on to the 
temple to prayer and sacrifice, leaving the poor man un- 
cared for, dying in the road. 

A temple-singer also passed that way. When he saw 
the wounded man lying there he went up to him, looked 
carefully at his sad condition, and said to himself, " Poor 
man, I would help him if I were not so busy." So he 
passed on to his singing in the temple, leaving the poor 
man uncared for, dying in the road. 

Shortly afterward a Samaritan, a man who was not a 
Jew, came along the road. He saw the wounded man 
bleeding and dying, uncared for in the road, and felt 
sorry for him. He saw that he was a Jew and not 
one of his own people, but that made no difference. 
He went up to him, raised the suffering man, and gently 
poured soothing oil into his wounds, and gave him 
strengthening wine. Then he helped him upon his mule 
and walked by its side, while the man rode until they 
came to a small hotel, where he spent the night taking 
good care of him. The next morning he said to the 
hotel-keeper: " Take care of him until he is well. Here 
is some money, and if you spend more I will repay you 
when I come this way again." 

Jesus said to the lawyer, " Which of these three was a 
neighbor to the wounded man ? " The lawyer said, " The 
man that showed mercy on him ! " Jesus said : " Go, and 
do you be as good a neighbor to all whom you have the 
power to aid and to help." 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT 169 
12. THE STORM-KING 

(Mark 4 : 35-41) 

Just at sunset one beautiful evening, a little fishing-boat 
was sailing across a large lake. At the end of the boat 
Jesus, the great Teacher, was sitting watching the gold 
and red and purple of the sky reflected in the rippling 
waves. Soon the moon came up and its soft, silvery 
beams shone on the waves all around the boat. Then, as 
Jesus was very, very tired with his hard day's work, he 
lay down on the seat and one of his fisher-friends brought 
him a leathern cushion for a pillow that he might rest 
easier. No sooner was Jesus fast asleep than the lake, 
which had looked so lovely before with its rippling waves, 
changed quickly and became rough and choppy, and the 
wind began to blow very hard. The moon went under a 
cloud. The wind blew fiercer and fiercer. The waves 
rose higher and higher. Several of the friends of Jesus 
had been fishermen and sailors on that lake all their lives, 
but they never knew such a terrible storm. The wind 
blew a hurricane, the waves dashed up so high that they 
came over the boat, and it began to fill with water. Hur- 
rying to Jesus, who was sleeping soundly through all the 
wind and storm and darkness, they awoke him, crying, 
" Master ! Master ! awake, we are drowning ! Save us ! " 
Jesus awoke and heard the wild roaring of the wind and 
the torrents of rain and the dashing of the sea. Then he 
arose and said to the sea, " Peace, be still ! " and the wild 
wind heard his voice, and ceased as a dog stops barking 
when he hears his master's command, " Be still," or as 
a crying child stops his sobs when his mother speaks. So 
the noisy sea trembled ; the waves sank to rest ; the moon 
came out again ; and the lake lay still and silent. There 
was a great calm. Then his friends knew that Jesus was 
the Storm-King, and they said, " What a King is this — ■ 



170 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

for he commandeth even the winds and the sea and they 
obey him." 

13. THE KING WITH THE BASIN AND THE TOWEL 

(John 13 : 1-17) 

One evening Jesus and his friends were gathered to- 
gether at a supper in an upper room in a house which 
belonged to a friend of Jesus, and which had been loaned 
for this special supper. Jesus and his friends had walked 
a long distance that day over a rough and dusty road and 
their feet, in the loose sandals, were sore and dusty. 
Near the door stood a stone pitcher filled with cool, fresh 
water, and also a basin and a towel, but there was no 
servant at the door to wash their feet when they removed 
their sandals and passed to their places about the table. 
Each of the twelve friends of Jesus was thinking which 
would occupy the highest seat in Jesus' kingdom, and 
each wanted to have the highest place of honor at the 
table. No one had offered to take the basin and the 
towel, but rather they were even quarreling over which 
should recline next to Jesus at the head of the table. 
Jesus spoke not a word. He arose from the table, went 
quietly over to the water- jar, laid aside his outer cloak, 
tied a towel around his waist, like a servant, took up the 
basin, filled it with water, and began to wash his friends' 
feet, one after the other, and to wipe them with the towel. 
Jesus was the King of heaven and earth! Jesus was 
Lord and Master, as well as Friend. One of them should 
have offered to do this. But no one thought of serving 
others in any such slave's way but Jesus. So, when he 
had finished washing the feet of all, he put on his outer 
cloak again, took his place at the table, and said, " He 
that would be greatest of all must become the servant 
of all." 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT l/I 

14. WHEN JESUS WAS FORSAKEN 

(Matthew 2y : 27-66) 

For three long years Jesus went about doing good, 
living for others — feeding the hungry, healing the sick, 
opening the eyes of the blind, unstopping the ears of 
the deaf, causing the lame to walk, raising the dead, com- 
forting the weary-hearted, and teaching messages of love 
to all. At last untrue men, who did not love goodness 
and truth, jealous because the multitudes followed Jesus, 
said, "Away with him — crucify him!" And Pilate, 
the Roman governor, gave the sentence, " Let him be 
crucified ! " That meant death on the cross, the cruel 
cross on which only the worst criminals, and those mostly 
slaves, were put to death for the basest crimes. So one 
Friday morning about nine o'clock, Jesus, carrying the 
heavy beam upon his shoulder, was led up the steep road 
to a green hill outside the city wall. There they nailed 
him cruelly to the cross. Jesus quietly prayed to his 
Father to forgive his enemies. He also prayed for one of 
the two thieves dying near him on another cross, that 
God would forgive him and bring him to heaven. He 
saw his mother, Mary, weeping bitterly near his cross, 
and said to his friend John, " Take care of my mother, 
and be a son to her." Just at midday a sudden and 
strange darkness came over all the land. There was 
thunder and lightning and a great earthquake ! The peo- 
ple around the cross listened and heard through the 
storm and out of the darkness this piercing cry from 
Jesus, " My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? " 
It seemed to Jesus that not only had all his disciples and 
nation forsaken him, but that God, his heavenly Father, 
whom he had always tried to please in everything all his 
life long, had hidden away his face from him and had 
forgotten and forsaken him. After three hours the light 



1/2 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

broke out again and Jesus said, " It is finished ! " Then, 
" Father, into thy hands I yield my spirit." And Jesus 
was dead. To make the more sure that he was dead, 
one of the soldiers pierced his side with a sharp spear, 
and from the wound water and blood came forth. And 
the water mingled with the blood showed that Jesus died 
of a broken heart for the sins of men ! 

That evening some friends came and tenderly took his 
body down from the cross and buried him in a new tomb 
in a garden, and rolled a great stone across the door 
of the tomb. 

And when the stars shone out that night it was the 
close of the world's blackest day, because the King of 
Love, who came to bring to men " peace and good will, 
good will and peace," had been rejected and was dead 
and buried. 

15. THE FIRST EASTER DAY 

(John 20) 

Very, early on Sunday morning, the third day after 
Jesus had died, some Roman soldiers were guarding the 
tomb where the body of Jesus lay. Just as the first faint 
streaks of dawn appeared, suddenly there was a noise and 
a shaking of the ground, as a beautiful angel came down 
from heaven and rolled away the great stone from the 
mouth of the tomb. The face of the angel was like light- 
ning, and his garments were like snow. At the sight of 
the angel and the opened tomb, the Roman soldiers shook 
with fear and ran away as for their life. Just as they 
were running out of one gate of the garden, three 
women, friends of Jesus, were coming into the garden by . 
another gate. They were walking slowly and sorrow- 
fully and saying one to another, " Who will roll away 
the stone from the tomb ? " They were bringing fresh 
cloths and spices to put around his body. Tt was still 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT I73 

dark in the garden, with only a small streak of light in 
the east ; but what was that bright, shining light in front 
of the tomb? They hurried forward and looked — the 
great rock had been rolled away and a strange and beau- 
tiful angel was sitting upon the stone in front of the 
tomb. The tomb they could see was empty. The women 
were trembling with fear and surprise. But the angel 
said : " Be not afraid, I know ye seek Jesus. He is not 
here. He is risen. Go, and tell his disciples that he 
goes before you into Galilee, and ye shall see him as he 
said unto you ! " Full of joy the women hurried back and 
told the friends of Jesus that he was alive. 

Another friend of Jesus came to the garden just as 
soon as the women had gone. Her name was Mary. 
She came to the tomb all alone, and when she looked 
into the empty tomb she saw two angels in white sitting, 
one at the head and the other at the foot, where the 
body of Jesus had lain. These angels were strong and 
beautiful, with garments dazzling white like the sun, but 
she was so sad that she hardly noticed them until one of 
them said, " Woman, why weepest thou ? " She said, 
" Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not 
where they have laid him," Then she stepped back a little 
distance into the garden and saw a man she thought must 
be the gardener. He said, " Woman, why weepest thou? " 
She said, " Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me 
where you have laid him," In a low, sweet voice the 
man said, " Mary," Then she knew Jesus spoke to 
her, and brushing her tears away quickly, she said, 
"Teacher!" 

So Jesus came to all his disciples, one by one, or two 
or three together; until at last all knew he was risen 
from the dead — that he was alive again. 

This is the story of the first Easter Day. And this is 
the reason that in Russia on Easter morning, the peasant 



174 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

people say, " The Lord is risen ! " and their friends 
reply, " The Lord is risen indeed ! " 

l6. THE CRIPPLE AT THE BEAUTIFUL GATE 
(Acts 3, 4) 

One afternoon two friends were walking along a 
street in Jerusalem on their way to the evening sacrifice 
in the temple. At one of the entrances — the Beautiful 
Gate (so named because of its snow-white marble steps 
leading up to its great door of costly brass) — sat a poor 
lame man, begging. His feet and ankles were so crippled 
that he had never been able to walk or even to stand. 
His friends carried this helpless cripple and laid him 
every morning at this temple entrance to beg charity 
from those who went to pray. As soon as the man saw 
these two friends, Peter and John, he cried piteously, 
" Give charity ! " Standing still and looking him quietly 
in the eye, the two friends said, " Look on us ! " He 
looked up at once most expectantly. Peter said, " Silver 
and gold have I none, but what I have, I give thee. In 
the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk ! " Taking 
him by the hand Peter lifted him up, and immediately his 
feet and ankle-bones became strong. The man leaped 
up and went into the temple with Peter and John, walk- 
ing and leaping and praising God. All the people were 
amazed, seeing him leaping and hearing his shouts of 
joy as he held fast to his two friends. A great throng 
gathered about them in the large open court, called 
Solomon's porch. Peter, seeing the throng, began to tell 
them about the wonderful Prince of Life, Jesus, whom 
they had put to death. Such preaching within the temple 
courts aroused the people and ofifended the priests, and 
the chief officer seized Peter and John and cast them into 
prison. This caused hundreds of the people to declare 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT 1/5 

themselves Christians. The next morning when Peter 
and John were brought before the council and questioned, 
the officers said, " We will let you go if you will promise 
not to speak or teach in this name again." They an- 
swered : " Whether it be right in the sight of God to 
hearken unto you, rather than unto God, judge ye; for 
we cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard." 
So, failing to frighten them, the officers were compelled 
to let them go. And being let go, they returned at once 
to the Christian company, and told what the Jewish 
officers had said to them. And the cripple who had been 
healed at the Beautiful Gate was a happy Christian in 
that company, and was one of the loudest in giving true 
praise to God that day. 

17. THE GIRL WHO KNEW SHE WAS RIGHT 

(Acts 12) 

Once there was a girl, possibly about sixteen years of 
age, who lived with her father and mother in the dreadful 
days of the persecution against the early Christians. One 
evening her mother said : " Rose, your father and I are 
going to a friend's house to-night to pray. Herod, the 
wicked king, who killed the apostle James, John's 
brother, has shut up Peter in prison for several days — 
and to-morrow he is going to put Peter to death. The 
Christians are to pray to-night for Peter's release from 
prison." " Mother," said Rose, " I am a Christian too ; 
let me go and pray with you." Her mother consented. 
For some hours the Christians earnestly prayed ; and after 
midnight they were still on their knees praying, when 
suddenly Rose, being nearer the door, heard a knock 
on the outside gate. She quickly arose from her knees, 
ran to the door and said, " Who's there ? " " It is I — I — 
Peter," came a voice. Again she said, "Who is it?" 



176 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

" I — Peter," came again the voice. She knew at once it 
was Peter's voice, but in her joy and excitement she for- 
got to open the door, running back into the prayer- 
meeting room and crying out, " Peter is out of prison ! 
Peter is at the door." All arose from their knees and 
said, " Rose, you must be crazy to talk like that." " No, 
I am not," she said ; " it is Peter ! " 

"Isn't it too bad?" said one, "Herod has already 
killed Peter, not waiting until to-morrow ; and God has 
sent Peter's angel to comfort us." " No," cried Rose ; 
" no, it is not Peter's angel ; it is Peter himself ! I know 
I am right ! Listen, there he is knocking again ! " 

All heard the knocking and went toward the gate, and 
there stood Peter, alive and well. " How did you get 
out of prison ? " they exclaimed. " Hush ! " said Peter, 
beckoning them to be quiet ; " let me in, and I will tell 
you ! " He stood just inside the gate, and this is what 
he said : " Last night I was in prison, knowing well that 
Herod intended to kill me this morning. I was guarded 
by sixteen soldiers, and each of my wrists was chained 
to a soldier, one on each side. I knew you were praying 
for me, and I believed that Jesus would answer your 
prayers. So I had no worry, but fell peacefully asleep, 
and in my dream I thought I saw an angel come into my 
cell ; my chains fell ofif ; the angel said, ' Rise and put on 
your sandals and cloak and follow me.' I followed the 
angel past the first and second cells and the sleeping 
soldiers, and when we came to the outer gate it opened 
of its own accord. When we were in the street the 
angel vanished. I thought it all a dream until I found 
myself really out of prison with no chains on my wrists, 
no soldiers guarding me, no prison-cell enclosing me. I 
saw then that your prayers for me were answered, and 
that Jesus had sent his angel and delivered me out of 
prison. I came here as soon as I could to tell you, but 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT I77 

now I must go quickly to another place. Good-bye, God 
bless you all ! " 

In a few moments the gray streaks of the morning 
came, and it was light. The soldiers awoke and cried, 
" Where is Peter ? " One after another echoed the cry, 
" What has become of Peter ? " No soldier and no officer 
could tell, for none knew. But Rose, the Christian girl, 
knew that in answer to prayer Jesus had sent his angel 
and delivered Peter out of prison and she knew that 
her prayer had been answered as much as the prayers 
of any of the Christians, and she was glad she had been 
in that prayer-meeting that night ! 

18. THE PRISONER AND THE SHIPWRECK 

(Acts 2^) 

" All aboard ! " cried the captain of a sailing-vessel 
which was just loosing from the wharf to sail out to sea. 
There, on the deck, was a number of prisoners, guarded 
by soldiers. One of these prisoners was Paul, who had 
been seized in the temple at Jerusalem and nearly killed 
by a riotous mob. Forty men had secretly vowed not 
to eat or drink until they had killed him. The captain 
of the temple, being Paul's friend, told him about the 
plot, and sent him in the night with a guard of soldiers 
to the governor's house in a distant city. Paul said to 
the governor : " I want to have my case tried in Rome 
before the emperor, for I am a Roman citizen ! " So 
Paul was sent as a prisoner to Rome on this sailing- 
vessel. Some of his friends were with him. One was 
" the beloved physician," Doctor Luke, who had often 
traveled with him on his missionary journeys and who is 
the man that tells this story. Out upon the great sea the 
ship sailed until it came to a wharf where there was a 
large wheat-ship sailing to Rome. Paul and the soldiers 

M 



178 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

were put on board this wheat-ship. Counting the soldiers 
and passengers there were two hundred and seventy-six 
people in all. Soon their troubles began. The wind was 
blowing the wrong way, so that they had to go very 
slowly. But at last they came to Fair Havens, where 
they stayed much too long, Paul thought, for the stormy 
season of the year had come. Paul said, " You ought to 
stay here for the winter." But the captain of the soldiers 
only made fun of him. The weather just then seemed 
good, so they pulled up the anchors, hoisted the sails, 
and put out from Fair Havens. Hardly had they started 
when a terrible storm broke upon them, driving the ship 
far out of its course. The ship was in danger of break- 
ing in two so that they had to throw great ropes around 
the ship to hold it together. Then they lowered the 
sails and let the vessel drift. For two weeks they were 
tossed and driven by the storm, not seeing the sun or 
stars. One night God sent to Paul an angel who said to 
him, " Fear not, Paul, you shall reach Rome in safety, 
and God will save all in the ship with you." Early in 
the morning Paul said to the sailors and soldiers, " Be 
of good cheer, God will save you all." They made fun 
of him, and the ship drifted on until in the darkness 
of the night they found they were near some island. 
They quickly threw out four anchors to save them from 
being dashed on the rocks, and longed for the morning! 
As soon as daylight came and they saw the land, some 
selfish sailors at the front of the boat pretending to put 
out some more anchors, lowered the rowboat, and were 
just getting ready to row away to the land, thinking only 
of saving themselves, when Paul saw their trick and 
cried out to the soldiers, " Look ! except these men abide 
in the ship you yourselves cannot be saved ! " No one 
made fun of Paul then, but the soldiers ran and cut away 
the rope of the boat and let the boat fall into the sea and 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT I79 

drift away. After they had eaten food they threw all 
their wheat overboard to lighten the ship. As that did 
not help, they decided to run the ship upon the shore, 
but the bow struck the beach and the stern was broken 
to pieces by the fury of the waves. Some of the soldiers 
said, " Kill all the prisoners, lest they swim to the shore 
and escape." But the captain of the soldiers, who had 
grown to think much of Paul, said : " No, but let each 
man who can swim jump overboard and swim for the 
shore first." This they did, and the others, including 
Paul and Doctor Luke, followed on planks and other 
floating things from the ship. And all escaped safe to the 
land. So Paul, the prisoner, was right; the ship was 
lost, but God had saved all the two hundred and seventy- 
six men in the ship with him ! 

19. THE SLAVE WHO RAN AWAY FROM HIS MASTER 

(Epistle of Paul to Philemon) 

In the city of Colosse the Christians met in the large 
house of a kind-hearted man named Philemon. He, and 
his wife Apphia, and his son Archippus were so kind 
to the poor Christians that the people in other cities knew 
about the kindness of this fine Christian family in Colosse. 

In those days even Christian people did not think it 
wrong to keep slaves to work for them. So in the home 
of Philemon there was a slave named Onesimus, Phile- 
mon and his wife and family were kind to Onesimus, but 
he was often ugly and did not like to be a slave. One 
day he made up his mind that he would be a slave no 
longer. He stole from his master some money which he 
put into his own pocket and ran far away to the great 
city of Rome. He thought he would be safe there and 
could do as he pleased without any one knowing who he 
was. He soon spent all the money he had stolen and 



l80 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

became a tramp without money, food, work, or home. 
Every moment he feared lest some one should find him 
and take him back to his master, for he knew that a 
master had the right to put any slave to death for stealing 
money and running away. One- day he was walking 
along a street in great sorrow wondering what to do, 
when suddenly he heard singing, which sounded like that 
which he used to hear at his master's house. This made 
him more homesick than ever. He listened to the singing, 
wondering what it could be. Some one came out and 
said pleasantly, " You are welcome to come in." He went 
in and saw a strange-looking little old man chained to a 
soldier and talking to a large group of people, who were 
listening eagerly as the speaker said : " I was a great sin- 
ner once. I did many things that were wrong. But 
Jesus saved me and made a new man of me. He can save 
you too." Onesimus said to himself, " He means me. He 
says Jesus will save any one who is poor and lonely and 
miserable. That means me." 

He looked again at the preacher and heard some one 
call his name. Then he knew that this was Paul, the mis- 
sionary, who was the friend of his master, and whose 
name he had so often heard Philemon mention. As soon 
as the sermon was ended and many of the people had 
gone home, Onesimus went to Paul and, full of sorrow 
for what he had done, told him how he had stolen money 
from his master and had run away. He asked Paul to 
pray that the runaway slave might become a Christian. 
Paul did so, and Onesimus became a new man too — a 
Christian like Paul and Philemon. Then he was very 
happy and said he would stay with Paul always and help 
him. But Paul said, " No, my son, you must go back to 
your master." " Oh, no," said Onesimus ; " if I do he 
has a right to kill me for stealing and running away." 
" Yes," said Paul, " I know that, but you must go back." 



BIBLE STORIES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT l8l 

" But what shall I say ? " asked the slave. " You need 
not say anything. I will write a letter to Philemon and 
tell him to forgive you and receive you back as a Chris- 
tian brother." 

Paul asked one of his friends for pen and ink and 
paper, and this is what he wrote: 

Dear Philemon, Apphia, and Archippus: I often think 
of you and remember you in my prayers here in my prison in 
Rome. I want to ask a favor of you for my son Onesimus, who 
ran away from you as a slave, but now returns to you as a 
Christian brother. He has told me his story and is sorry. If 
you think of me as a friend, receive him back as you would 
receive me. If he has stolen anything, I will pay it for him. 
Love to all. 

Your friend, 

Paul. 

The letter is a little longer than this, but you can read 
all of it in your own New Testament. This letter Onesi- 
mus took with him as he returned to the home of his 
master. Philemon treated him kindly, no longer as a 
slave but as a dear son. And many people say that 
Onesimus, the unprofitable slave, became one of the most 
profitable Christians in all that land, ever true to Jesus 
and to Paul, and to his master-friend, Philemon. 



VIII 

GENERAL HISTORICAL STORIES 
(Adapted for Children, Six to Twelve Years.) 

I. HORATIUS AT THE BRIDGE 

ONCE a great army came marching toward a bridge 
which led into the city of Rome across the river 
Tiber. " If they cross the bridge, Rome is lost! " cried 
the white-haired Fathers who made the laws, for the 
Roman soldiers were too few to meet so great an army. 
But brave Horatius, one of the men who guarded the 
bridge, stood forth and shouted, " Tear down the bridge 
quickly while I and the two men with me keep the enemy 
back ! " Then with their shields before them and their 
long spears in their hands the three brave men stood in 
the road and kept back the horsemen who had been sent 
to take the bridge. The Romans hewed away the beams 
and posts and soon the bridge trembled and was ready 
to fall. Horatius sent back his two friends, who had no 
sooner reached the other side in safety than crash went 
the bridge, falling into the river with a great splash. 
Then Horatius knew that Rome was safe. With his face 
still toward the foe, he moved slowly backward till he 
stood on the river's brink. A dart thrown by one of the 
soldiers struck his left eye and put it out. But, not with a 
curse, but a prayer on his lips, he leaped into the deep, 
swift stream. He had his heavy armor on, and when he 
sank beneath the water no one thought he would ever 
be seen again. But he was strong, and the best swimmer 
in Rome. The next minute he arose and swam to the 
182 



GENERAL HISTORICAL STORIES I83 

Other side amid the shower of darts and javelins from 
the enemy. At last when his friends pulled him up on the 
bank, shout after shout went up, not only from the Ro- 
mans, but also from the enemy on the other bank, for 
they had never seen a soldier so strong and brave before. 
The Romans, in gratitude, gave him as much land as 
he could plow around in a day, raised a statue in his 
honor in the public market-place, and ever after to the 
Roman children, 

With weeping and with laughter 

Still was the story told, 
How well Horatius kept the bridge 

In the brave days of yore. 



2. DAMON AND PYTHIAS 

Once a young man who had done something that dis- 
pleased the King, was dragged to prison, and the day set 
for his death. His home was far away. " Let me go and 
bid good-bye to my father and mother and friends," he 
said to the King, " and I will return and die." The King 
laughed and said, " Ah ! ah ! he wishes to save himself ! 
He would never return ! " A young man stepped forward 
from the crowd, and said : " O King, put me in prison 
until he returns, I know he will do as he has promised, 
for he is a man who has never broken his word. If he 
does not return, I will die for him." 

The King, surprised at such an offer of friendship, 
agreed. So Pythias went to bid his friends good-bye, 
and Damon was put in prison. Many days passed. By 
and by the day arrived for the death of Pythias, and he 
had not returned. Damon said, " I know something has 
prevented, or he would be here to keep his word. I am 
ready to die for him! " The jailer led him out, and was 
just about to put him to death, when suddenly, far away 



184 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

on the distant road, a cloud of dust was seen growing 
larger and larger. It was Pythias running, swift as the 
wind, to keep his promise. He told them how he had 
been hindered by storm and shipwreck. He thanked his 
friend again and again for his faith in him. And then 
giving himself for death into the hands of the jailer, he 
was led out for execution. " Stop ! Stop ! " cried the 
King, " such friends must not suffer unjustly. Pythias 
shall be free! And I could give all that I possess to 
have one such true friend ! " 



3. ANDROCLES AND THE LION 

Once a poor slave who was treated cruelly by his master 
ran away into a forest and hid in a cave. Soon he heard 
a dreadful roar and saw a lion limping as though his 
foot hurt. Androcles went close to the lion and saw a 
sharp thorn was piercing the lion's paw. He quickly drew 
the thorn out, and the lion began jumping about him like 
a kitten, licking the slave's hands and feet. Androcles 
and the lion became warm friends and lived like brothers, 
sharing each other's food until one day the slave was 
caught and taken back to his master; and the lion was 
caught and put into a large cage. In those days any 
slave who ran away from his master, when caught, must 
fight a lion kept several days without food. So when 
the next holiday came, Androcles was put in the great 
arena with thousands of people crowding its seats to see 
him die. When all was ready a door in the cage was 
opened, and out bounded the lion ready to spring upon 
the poor slave. With a tremendous roar the lion dashed 
toward him, but to the surprise of all the people, instead 
of hurting him, the lion crouched down at his feet like a 
pet dog and began to lick the slave's hands and feet. 
The people cried, " O Androcles, what meaheth this ? " 



GENERAL HISTORICAL STORIES 185 

Then Androcles put his arms around the lion's neck and 
said, " O people, in the forest I pulled a thorn out of this 
lion's foot, and that is why he does not hurt me now." 
The people were delighted and shouted, " Androcles shall 
be free ! Androcles shall be free ! " 

So Androcles and the lion were set free and lived 
together like brothers long afterward. 



4. CORNELIA AND HER JEWELS 

One bright morning in a beautiful Roman garden two 
brothers were playing among the flowers and trees. 
Cornelia, their mother, a Roman lady, called the boys into 
the house, saying, " A friend is to dine with us to-day, 
and she will show us her jewels." After the simple meal 
was over a servant brought into the room a large and 
beautiful casket of jewels, which the rich lady showed 
to her friends. How eagerly the boys gazed at those 
sparkling jewels — pearls, rubies, sapphires, and diamonds ! 
The younger boy whispered to his brother, " I wish our 
mother had beautiful jewels too ! " Later, when the boys 
had gone out into the garden to play, the friend said, " Is 
it true, Cornelia, that you are so poor that you have no 
jewels? " " Oh, no," answered Cornelia, " I have jewels 
that are far more precious than yours." " Oh, let me see 
them," said the lady; " where are they? " " If you care 
to see them I will bring them to you," said Cornelia. 
Then, calling her boys to her side, she presented them 
to the lady, saying, " These are my jewels ! Are they not 
far more precious than your gems ? " 

In the long after-times when Cornelia's sons became the 
greatest and best men of Rome, they never forgot that 
day when they knew that they were their mother's pride 
and joy and love, dearer far to her than the most 
precious jewels of the rich. 



1 86 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

5. KING ALFRED AND THE CAKES 

Long ago in England there lived a good king, whose 
name was Alfred. One day after a fierce battle with the 
Danes the English soldiers were scattered and every man 
had to save himself in the best way he could. King Al- 
fred fled alone, in great haste, through the woods and 
swamps, coming late at night to a wood-cutter's cottage. 
He was very tired and hungry, and begged the wood- 
cutter's wife to give him something to eat and a place to 
sleep. The good woman, not knowing who he was, in- 
vited him into her hut. She was cooking some cakes 
and so she said : " My poor, ragged fellow, you shall 
have some supper if you will watch these cakes. I want 
to go out and milk the cow, and you must see that the 
cakes do not burn while I am gone." King Alfred sat 
down to watch them, but as his thoughts were on his peo- 
ple and his plans for the next day, he forgot all about 
the cakes until the woman came in and saw that they 
were burned to a crisp. " You lazy fellow ! " she cried. 
" How dare you let the cakes burn ? See what you have 
done ! " Some people think she even struck the king 
with a stick. But the king was good-natured, not caring 
for her angry words half so much as for the loss of the 
cakes. No doubt he had to go hungry to bed that night. 
Early the next morning soldiers loudly knocked at the 
door, and said, " We seek King Alfred ! " Then she 
knew she had treated her king shamefully. Alfred was 
great and good enough to ask her forgiveness for burn- 
ing the cakes. 

Soon after that the king gathered his men together 
again, won a great battle, drove the Danes back to their 
own country, and all the rest of his days ruled his people 
wisely and well. But this story of King Alfred and the 
Cakes has never been forgotten in all the after years. 



GENERAL HISTORICAL STORIES I87 

6. BRUCE AND THE SPIDER 

King Robert Bruce, of Scotland, longed to see his peo- 
ple free from England. He had fought six fierce battles, 
and six times he had been defeated, and his soldiers were 
so scattered that each soldier was forced to flee for safety 
into the thick woods. King Bruce himself was hiding 
in a shed. He was tired and sick at heart, feeling that it 
was useless to try to do anything more. Just as he was 
thinking that he would give up, he looked up and saw a 
spider weaving its web from one beam to another. Six 
times the spider climbed up almost to the top, and each 
time it fell down again. As the king watched it fall the 
sixth time he said, " It will give up." But no ; up it 
climbed again the seventh time, slowly, slowly, but 
surely — and succeeded ! 

Bruce arose full of courage, saying, " I will try again ! " 
He tried again and won! That is why brave boys and 
girls say to-day, " If at first you don't succeed, try, try, 
try again ! " 

7. THE INCHCAPE BELL 

More than a hundred years ago there was a great and 
dangerous rock called the Inchcape Rock in the North 
Sea. Its top was hidden just below the surface of the 
waves so that many vessels struck upon it and sank. A 
kind-hearted priest called an abbot said : " I will chain 
a bell to the rock, and the bell will float to and fro in 
the shallow water and warn the sailors of their danger." 
Loud and clear this bell rang out, and the sailors blessed 
the abbot for his kindness. But one calm, summer day a 
ship with a black flag sailed that way. It belonged to 
Ralph the Rover, a sea-robber, and he and his ship were 
the terror of the sea. Ralph saw the bell and said to his 
boatmen, "Row me to the Inchcape Rock, and we will 



1 88 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

play a trick on the old abbot." Being rowed to the rock 
he cut the warning bell from the float, and the bell sank 
with a gurgling sound. " The next who comes to this 
rock will not bless the abbot," laughed the robber as he 
sailed away. Many days he sailed the seas and grew rich 
with the ships he plundered. At last he sailed back home, 
and in the storm and fog he longed for the sound of the 
Inchcape Bell to tell him where he was. Then his vessel 
struck with a fearful crash on the Inchcape Rock, and as 
the waves rushed in on every side the abbot's bell, ringing 
far down on the bottom of the sea, seemed to say, " The 
next who comes to this rock will not bless the abbot." — 
Adapted from Robert Southey. 

8. SIR WALTER RALEIGH 

One morning, Elizabeth, Queen of England, was taking 
her daily walk with her maids after a rain-storm that had 
made the streets of London very muddy. A young man 
named Walter Raleigh, who was dressed in a new, rich 
scarlet plush cloak thrown over his shoulders, saw the 
Queen and her maids stop at a muddy place, wondering 
how they could cross. Quickly this young man, Walter, 
forgot all about himself and thought only of the Queen, 
and how he could help her. He took off his coat, spread 
it across the muddy place, and with a graceful bow, po- 
litely begged the Queen to do him the honor of walking 
on it as upon a carpet. She crossed without soiling her 
shoes, and then turned to thank the generous and polite 
young man. As she walked on, she said to her maids, 
"Who is he?" "His name is Walter Raleigh," they 
replied. Not long after the Queen invited this polite 
young man to her palace, where she said to him : " Walter 
Raleigh, I wish to reward you for your generous gal- 
lantry. You are Sir Walter Raleigh." That made him a 



GENERAL HISTORICAL STORIES 189 

knight. He became the Queen's favorite at the court, and 
a great man in the nation. He tried to get English peo- 
ple to settle in America, and he introduced two things 
into England, from the Indians, which the people then 
knew very little about — potatoes and tobacco. There is a 
story that one day a servant, seeing the smoke curling 
over his master's head and thinking he was on fire, ran for 
a pail of water, which he threw into Sir Walter's face. 
This put the fire out quickly, but it did not stop people 
smoking tobacco. Would it not have been better if Sir 
Walter Raleigh had left the tobacco with the Indians ? 



9. SIR PHILIP SIDNEY 

Once there was a fierce battle in which a brave and 
courteous knight and soldier, named Sir Philip Sidney, 
was wounded while charging to the front on horseback. 
He reached the camp bleeding and faint with great pain 
and thirst. A soldier brought him some water, saying, 
" Here, Sir Philip, I have brought you some clear, cool 
water from the brook. I will raise your head so that you 
can drink it." He stooped low to raise his head, and was 
just placing the water to his lips when Sir Philip saw a 
foot-soldier, who was being carried past, looking with 
longing eyes at the water. 

The generous knight instantly pushed the cup toward 
the dying soldier, saying, " Give it to him. His need is 
greater than mine." 

Sir Philip Sidney died of this wound, when he was 
only thirty-two years of age. On the day of his funeral 
in Saint Paul's Cathedral the rich and poor, high and low, 
all felt they had lost a friend, and mourned for him as 
the kindest, gentlest man that they had ever known. His 
kindness to the dying soldier has caused his name to be 
remembered ever since with admiration and affection. 



190 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

and as long as stories of noble deeds are told to future 
boys and girls, this story will never be forgotten. 

It is thought that Shakespeare, who settled in London 
while all the world was talking of Sidney's life and its 
heroic ending, had him in mind when he made Ophelia 
speak of Hamlet as 

The courtier's, scholar's, soldier's, eye, tongue 

and sword; 
The expectancy and rose of the fair state. 
The glass of fashion and the mould of form, 
The observed of all observers. 



10. THE BELL OF JUSTICE 

Long ago in Italy a king ordered a bell hung from a 
tower in the market-place and called it " The Bell of 
Justice." He said even if a little child suffered any 
wrong, he could ring the bell by pulling on the rope that 
was fastened to it, and the little child should receive 
justice. As the years passed many wrongs of the people 
were righted for the people who rang the bell. But at 
last the lower part of the rope rotted away, and a wild 
grape-vine was tied to lengthen it. On the hillside above 
the village lived a man who owned a horse that he 
allowed to roam on the roadside, and that he left to 
starve and to die in his old age, because the owner was 
too miserly to feed him. One day the horse wandered 
Into the market-place, and seeing the green grape-vine, 
the poor creature in the keen pangs of hunger began to eat 
it, and in doing so rang the bell. All the people heard 
the ringing. It seemed to say, 

Some-one-has-done-me-a-wrong ! 
Some-one-has-done-me-a-wrong ! 
Come-and-judge-my-case ! 
Fve-been-wronged ! 



GENERAL HISTORICAL STORIES IQI 

The judges came quickly, and when they saw the 
miser's horse nibbling at the vine, they said, " The dumb 
beast has rung the Bell of Justice, and justice he shall 
have." They sent for the owner, and when he came they 
said : " This horse has served you well for many years. 
He saved your life several times. He helped you to 
make your wealth. So we order that one-half your 
money shall be set aside to provide good food, a warm 
stall, and good pasture for your horse the rest of his 
days." 

The miser hung his head, grieving to lose his gold. But 
the people shouted for joy at the just sentence, and the 
king laughed aloud : 

Right well this pleaseth me, 

And this shall make in every Christian clime, 

The Bell of Justice famous for all time. 

— Longfellow's " The Sicilian's Tale," in " Tales of a 
Wayside Inn." 

II. NAPOLEON AND THE DRUMMER-BOY 

One day the great general, Napoleon Bonaparte, was 
in the camp reviewing his troops, when he saw a small 
boy who was less than twelve years of age. 

"My boy, what are you doing here?" said Napoleon. 
" I belong to the army, Sire," replied the boy. " What 
do you do in the army ? " "I am a drummer, Sire." 
" Bring your drum, then," said the general. The boy 
went on the minute and brought the drum. " Now," 
said the general, " sound the general." This is the signal 
given in the army an hour before marching to strike 
tents, load wagons, and get everything ready. Immedi- 
ately the boy sounded the general. Napoleon exclaimed, 
" Good ; now beat the march." That is the signal for 



192 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

infantry to take their place in the column. The boy beat 
the march promptly. " Now sound the advance," said 
Bonaparte, and with sparkling eyes the little drummer 
sounded the advance, the signal for the cavalry to take 
its place in the column. " Good ! " exclaimed the emperor 
again ; " now for the charge ! " And with eyes flashing 
fire the little soldier beat the charge till the very rafters 
of the house trembled with the vibrations of the wild, 
fierce notes. " Bravo! " cried Napoleon; "now beat the 
retreat." Down went the sticks. The little fellow 
straightened up, and with manly pride said : " You must 
excuse me, Sire, I never learned that. Our regiment 
never retreated ! " 

" You are excused," said the general laughing, and to 
the end of his life Napoleon Bonaparte spoke of the little 
drummer-boy who could not beat a retreat. 

12. PICCIOLA 

One spring day an Italian prisoner, shut up wrong- 
fully by Napoleon in one of the dreadful dungeons of 
France, was permitted to walk in the prison-yard. Look- 
ing down he saw a little mound of earth between two of 
the stones in the pavement, and a tiny green leaf was 
pushing its way up out of the ground. He was just about 
to crush it with his foot when he noticed a soft coating 
over the leaf. " This coating is to keep it safe," he said ; 
" I must not hurt it ! " So he went on with his walk. 
The next day he saw that instead of one little green leaf, 
there were two leaves, and the plant was stronger. 
Every morning after that he looked to see how the little 
plant had grown. He called it " Picciola," which means 
" the little one " ; and it grew larger and more beautiful. 
He made some ink from soot and water in order to write 
down the story of this little flower, which soon had thirty 



GENERAL HISTORICAL STORIES 193 

beautiful blossoms on its stem. But one morning he was 
in great grief, for he saw his flower beginning to droop. 
He gave it water, but the stones of the prison-yard pre- 
vented its growing. He begged the jailer to let him 
remove one of the stones to save the life of his little 
flower; but the prison rules were strict, and no stone 
could be removed. A new thought came to the prisoner. 
He would send his little story of the flower to Napoleon, 
the emperor, and ask him to save his plant. A little girl 
carried the message to him, and at last the good news 
came that the stones of the prison-yard could be removed 
so that Picciola might live. Hearing the story, Josephine, 
the kind-hearted wife of the emperor, said, " No good 
can come in keeping such a good man in prison." So he 
was set free, but he never forgot that he owed his liberty 
not only to Josephine, but also to his little friend, Picciola. 

13. THE EMPEROR AND THE BIRd'S NEST 

" Look ! " said a soldier ; " look ! a swallow has built her 
nest in the emperor's tent." The soldiers looked and saw 
a swallow's nest built of clay and horse's hair, and the 
swallow sitting on her eggs. 

" Sure, the swallow thinks the emperor's tent is a shed," 
laughed the soldiers. The emperor, hearing his name 
spoken, came out from his tent. When he saw the nest, 
he said, " Let no hand molest the nest or hurt the bird." 

So the little swallow sat there quietly, amid all the 
noise of cannon, hatching out her little ones, until at last 
the great guns had made a breach through the walls and 
the army had poured in to take the city. Then when 
the terrible fighting was ended, the soldiers began taking 
down their tents to go away ; but when they came to the 
emperor's tent, he said, " No, no ! do not take down my 
tent, leave it standing ! " 

N 



194 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

So it Stood there all alone, 
Loosely flapping, torn and tattered, 
Till the brood was fledged and flown, 
Singing o'er those walls of stone 
Which the cannon-shot had shattered. 

— Adapted from Longfellow's " The Emperor's Bird's 
Nest" 

14. THE SWISS PATRIOT AND THE SPEARS 

Many years ago when an Austrian army was marching 
into Switzerland, Swiss peasants came down from the 
mountains with bows and arrows, scythes and pitchforks, 
sticks and clubs, to save their country. The Austrian 
soldiers were all armed with spears and shields and shi- 
ning armor, and as they moved together in solid ranks, 
what could the poor peasants do against such foes ? " We 
must break their ranks if we win ! " cried the Swiss leader. 
So bowmen shot their arrows, but they glanced from the 
soldiers' shields like raindrops from a roof. Others 
tried their scythes and pitchforks and sticks and clubs, 
but the lines were still unbroken. The Austrians moved 
steadily forward, their shields lapping over one another 
and their thousand spears shining in the sunlight like so 
many bristles. They were unafraid before the Swiss 
sticks and stones and scythes and arrows. " We must 
break their ranks or we are lost ! " cried the leader again ; 
and in a moment a poor peasant, named Arnold Wink- 
leried, stepped out and cried : " My friends, on the side 
of yonder mountain I have a happy home. There my 
wife and my little children await my return. But they 
will never see me again, for this day I give my life for 
my country. I commit my wife and children to your 
care. I will break the lines, follow me." He had nothing 
in his hands, neither stone nor club nor other weapon. 
Rushing forward toward the soldiers he gathered a num- 



GENERAL HISTORICAL STORIES I95 

ber of their spears together against his breast and fell 
pierced through and through. But he had broken the 
ranks of the enemy and made way for his countrymen to 
win the battle and to gain their liberty. Switzerland was 
saved, and the Swiss patriot did not gather the spears 
into his own breast in vain. 



15. THE EMPEROR AND THE GOOSE-BOY 

One hot summer day King Maximilian, of Bavaria, 
was walking in the country. Stopping under a tree to 
rest, he took a little book from his pocket to read, but 
he soon fell asleep. When he awoke he started for home, 
and had walked a mile when he thought of the book he 
had left under the tree. " My boy," he said to a bare- 
footed lad who was tending a large flock of geese near-by, 
" if you will run to that oak tree at the second turning 
of the road and bring me the book that I left there, I 
will give you this gold-piece." The boy said, " I would 
gladly go, but I cannot leave the geese." " Oh, I will 
mind them while you are gone," said the King. The boy 
laughed. " I should like to see you minding them," he 
said; " why, they would run away from you in a minute." 
" Only let me try," said the King. At last the boy gave 
the King his whip and showed him how to crack it, 
and started off. The King sat on a stone and laughed at 
the thought of his being a goose-herd. But the geese 
missed the boy at once, and with a great cackling and 
hissing they went off, half-flying and half-running, across 
the field. The King ran after them, trying to crack his 
whip and bring them back. But they got into a garden 
and were feeding on the tender vegetables when the boy 
got back with the book. "Just as I thought," said the 
boy, " I have found your book, and you have lost my 
geese." The King did the best he could to help the boy 



196 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

drive back the geese into the field. Then he gave the boy 
another gold-piece. The boy thanked him and said: 
" You are a very good man, and a very good king; but 
you will have to try a long time before you are a very 
good goose-herd." 

16. THE EMPEROR AND THE SCHOOL CHILDREN 

Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, was walking one 
June morning out into the country for a little rest and 
recreation. He came to a country schoolhouse, and asked 
the teacher if he might speak to the children and ask 
them some questions. Taking an orange from his pocket 
he said, " Who can tell me to what kingdom this be- 
longs ? " A brave, bright boy spoke up quickly and said, 
" It belongs to the vegetable kingdom, sir." " Why ? " 
asked the King. " It is the fruit of a plant, and all plants 
belong to the vegetable kingdom," said the boy. The 
King was pleased. " You are right, and you shall have 
the orange for your answer. Catch it," he said, tossing 
it to the boy. Then taking a gold coin from his pocket 
and holding it up, he said, " To what kingdom does this 
belong? " Another bright boy answered quickly, " To the 
mineral kingdom, sir! All metals belong to the mineral 
kingdom." " That is a good answer," said the King. 
" Here is the gold-piece for your answer." The children 
were delighted. 

" I will ask you one more question," he said. " To what 
kingdom do I belong ? " The bright boys were puzzled 
now. Some thought of saying " To the kingdom of 
Prussia." Some wanted to say " To the animal king- 
dom." But they were a little afraid, and all kept still. 
At last a tiny, blue-eyed little girl looked up into the 
King's smiling face and said in her simple way, " I think 
you belong to the kingdom of heaven, sir." 



GENERAL HISTORICAL STORIES 1 97 

King Frederick's eyes filled with tears, and he stooped 
down and kissed the sweet little girl, and said, " I hope 
I may always belong to that kingdom, my child." 



• 17. Tolstoy's daughter and the peasant boy 

One day Count Tolstoy's little daughter, ten years old, 
was in front of the house playing with some peasant chil- 
dren of the village. In a quarrel that arose one of the 
boys struck the little girl with a stick on her arm, ma- 
king it black and blue. She ran in the house crying, and 
said to her father : ** That naughty boy has bruised my 
arm. I want you to go out and whip him." The father 
took the little girl on his knee and said : " My daughter, 
tell me, what good would it do if I went out and beat him ? 
Would not your arm really hurt just as much? He 
struck you because he was angry with you. For a few 
minutes he hated you. If I whip him he will hate you 
more than ever and hate me too, and all of us. Would it 
not be better to make him love us? Perhaps that would 
change his character for the rest of his life. I tell you 
what I would do if I were you. I would go to the pantry 
and get some of that nice raspberry jam and take it out to 
him, and I think he will be made to love us all, instead of 
hating us." 

The little girl did what her father told her. Such a 
spirit of love Tolstoy believed in and taught in all his 
writings. Were such a spirit of love shown everywhere 
in the world, evil would oftener be overcome by good. 

18. the wrists bound with the red thread 

Once the English were at war with some fierce tribes 
of India, called the Hillsmen. The English knew they 
were very brave, and noticed after every battle the bravest 



198 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

chiefs v/ho were killed were found with a red thread 
bound around their wrists, as a mark of greatest honor. 
One day some English soldiers, following the enemy, 
were marching along a narrow valley, far in the hill-coun- 
try, when suddenly they came to a place where the valley 
was divided by a great pointed boulder. The main regi- 
ment kept to the right. A sergeant and eleven men took 
the left, thinking they could easily pass around the boulder 
and meet their companions beyond it. But in a moment 
the sergeant found that the boulder was an arm of the 
left canon of the valley, and that they had marched into 
a deep gorge with no outlet except the way they came. 
As they looked up at the great walls they spied a number 
of Hillsmen who, from their hiding-places, began shower- 
ing spears upon them. Just at that moment the officer in 
command of the other soldiers saw the danger of these 
men and gave the order for them to retreat. In some 
strange way they mistook the signal for a command to 
charge. At once they charged on a run up the slope, 
cheering as they ran. But as they were eleven against 
seventy, some of them were killed by spears, others were 
hurled backward over the precipice, and three only got 
to the top and fought hand to hand with the foe. When 
the fighting was finished two Hillsmen lay dead for every 
Englishman. Later in the day the English relief party 
arrived and gathered up their dead comrades, and they 
found, bound around both wrists of every one, the red 
thread ! The Hillsmen had given to their foes the honor 
reserved for their own heroes. — Adapted from " Hoiv 
to Tell Stories to Children," by Sara Cone Bryant. 

19. "little ten minutes" 

When the English were at war with the Zulus in South 
Africa, a French prince, named Louis Napokon, enlisted, 



GENERAL HISTORICAL STORIES I99 

and one morning was riding outside the camp with a 
small company of soldiers. All about them in the open 
country they saw the Zulus. One of his friends said : 
" Louis, we had better go back to camp. We are in great 
danger here. The Zulus may come upon us any minute 
and kill us." " Oh, no danger," said the Prince, " let us 
stay here just ten minutes more, and drink our coffee." 
During that ten minutes the Zulus came upon them, and 
in the skirmish the Prince lost his life. When the news 
of his death was telegraphed to his widowed mother in 
London, England, she said : " That was always Louis' way. 
When he was a little boy he was never ready on time. 
He was always saying, ' Just ten minutes more.' Some- 
times when I called him in the morning and he was too 
sleepy to speak he would lift his hands and spread out 
his ten fingers to show that he wanted ten minutes more. 
I used to call him ' Little Ten Minutes.' Those ten 
minutes have lost me my boy, and my boy his life. His 
fault has become his fate ! " 



IX 

AMERICAN HISTORICAL STORIES 
(Adapted for Children, Six to Twelve Years.) 

I. HOW AMERICA WAS FOUND 

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS was a poor sailor, who 
believed that the earth was round like an orange. 
Very few people would believe him because almost every- 
body living then thought that the earth was flat. Some 
men supposed that this big, flat earth was carried upon 
the back of a great elephant or on the shoulders of a large 
giant. As the ships of those days were small, and the 
sailors were superstitious and afraid of the unknown sea, 
few mariners had ever sailed far out upon the ocean. 
Should one try, they thought he would sail off the edge 
of the earth, 

Columbus said : " Give me money to buy ships, and I 
will prove the earth is round by sailing around it, just 
as a fly can walk around an orange." This seemed too 
funny for any one to believe. Even the little children 
pointed the finger at this sailor and called him crazy. No 
one would help him get ships. At last Isabella, Queen of 
Spain, said, " Here are my jewels ! Sell them and sail 
your ships." So Columbus set sail with these ships on 
Friday, August 3, 1492, from Spain, with one hundred 
and twenty persons on board. They sailed westward 
for many days, and the sailors became frightened at the 
thought of their distance from home. At last they said 
they would throw Columbus overboard if he did not 
take them back. He promised if they did not see land 
200 



AMERICAN HISTORICAL STORIES 201 

in three days he would return. During those three days 
they could plainly see signs of land. Birds came and 
rested on the masts ; fresh-water weeds, berry-bushes, and 
large branches of trees floated by; and the sailors had 
great fun in netting crabs and other shell-fish in the sea- 
weed. But on the last night, as Columbus with longing 
eyes was peering through the darkness, suddenly his heart 
gave a quick jump, for he saw a light in the distance that 
appeared too bright and low to be a star. It danced up 
and down as if a person carried it in his hand while run- 
ning. Just at daybreak some one cried, " Land ! Land ! " 
Then a cannon from the first ship boomed across the sea, 
which was the signal that land was found. The sailors 
saw a beautiful green island. There were hundreds of 
men running to the shore and throwing up their arms 
in fear. They had never seen a ship before. Some 
thought they were great birds with white wings. Others 
thought the Great Spirit had come. Columbus put on 
his rich, scarlet robes, and taking the royal banner of 
Spain in his hands, ordered the sailors to row him in a 
little boat to the shore. As soon as they reached land, 
Columbus and his men fell on their knees, kissed the 
ground, and sang praise to God. Columbus thought he 
had reached India, so he called the copper-colored men, 
with their straight black hair, Indians. This is the name 
still given to the natives of North America. 

2. HOW AMERICA WAS NAMED 

Does it not seem strange that this island should be 
called " America," instead of " Columbia," when Colum- 
bus discovered it? After all he had done it would have 
seemed only fair to have had his name remembered in 
the name of the country. But many men were jealous 
of him, and a few years later, when he returned to the 



202 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

island, he was seized, bound in chains, carried to the ship, 
and returned at once to Spain. Isabella was dead, and 
King Ferdinand did nothing to help him. So Columbus, 
already an aged man, lived the rest of his days in poverty, 
and died broken-hearted. Meanwhile another sailor and 
traveler, named Americus Vespucius, made a voyage 
across the ocean. When he returned he talked much 
of what he had seen, and wrote several books of his 
travels. These books were read by some students of 
geography in the monastery of St. Die. When one of 
these scholars wrote another book describing these travels, 
he said the New World should be called " America " in 
honor of Americus Vespucius, honestly believing him to 
have been the first discoverer. It does not seem that 
Americus was guilty of making a false claim, or that he 
wanted to deprive Columbus of his honor. Had he not 
written his books of travel his memory would have faded 
away, as has happened to many who were mightier in 
deed than they were with the pen. Columbus died before 
the book from St. Die was published. Vespucius died six 
years after. Both believed that the new country was a 
part of the Indies. Very likely Americus never heard of 
Waldseemiiller, the obscure geographer in the monastery 
of St. Die, who had, unintentionally, robbed Columbus 
of part of the glory of his discovery and had given 
the new world the name of " America " instead of 
" Columbia." 



3. THE MAN WHO FIRST SAILED AROUND THE WORLD 

Columbus said, " Give me money to buy ships, and I 
will prove that the earth is round by sailing around it." 
But he never did sail around the earth, after all. Nor did 
Americus Vespucius. This was left for another sailor, 
named Fernando Magellan. In 15 19, twelve years after 



AMERICAN HISTORICAL STORIES 2O3 

the death of Columbus, he started from Spain with a 
large fleet of ships, hoping to find, through this new 
land, a way by which he might sail around the world. 
He sailed directly across the Atlantic Ocean to America, 
looking up and down the coast for an opening to the 
other ocean which a sailor one day had seen. Finding 
no opening, he sailed down to the most southern point of 
South America, and after sailing around Cape Horn, he 
came out into the great ocean. When he saw it first it 
looked smiling and peaceful. So on account of its calm, 
sunny appearance, he named it the " Pacific," which 
means " peaceful." Sailing over the Pacific Ocean he 
came at last to the Indies, to India, and to Spain. Then 
he knew that he had sailed around the world. So what 
Columbus had said and believed so earnestly, Fernando 
Magellan proved at last to be true — the earth is round ! 

4. THE LOST COLONY 

After Columbus discovered America many ships from 
Spain, France, and England sailed across the sea, bring- 
ing settlers to plant new homes here. Spain took posses- 
sion of Florida ; France of Canada ; and England claimed 
all the land lying between Canada and Florida, and called 
it " Virginia." The English sent over a shipload of one 
hundred and fifty settlers, who landed on the beautiful 
island of Roanoke. When their rough houses were built 
and the people had planted their fields and the colony 
seemed prosperous. Governor John White resolved to 
return home to report their success and to bring new pro- 
visions for them. He did not like to leave because un- 
friendly Indians roamed about, and besides, there was a 
little baby girl, his granddaughter, named Virginia (who 
was the first English child ever born in America), whom 
he did not like to leave. But the people needed provisions, 



204 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

and so the brave man sailed back to England. It was 
three years before his ship returned and he again drew 
near the island. Eagerly he looked up and down the 
shore for signs of a welcome from his people. But only 
the washing of the waves on the beach and the stillness 
and gloom of the dense forest greeted him. Not a per- 
son was to be found. His little granddaughter, her par- 
ents, and all the colonists had disappeared. The huts 
were deserted. Not a sound was to be heard but the 
cry of the birds and the moaning of the trees. On a tree 
were cut a few letters. Was it the name of some place 
to which the people had moved ? Poor John White ! He 
never found out. Heart-broken, he turned his ship back 
to England. Not a trace of this lost colony, not a trace 
of the little babe, Virginia Dare, has ever been found. 

5. POCAHONTAS 

Captain John Smith was a brave and wise man who 
came from England and settled in Virginia. One day 
some of his men disobeyed orders and got into a quarrel 
with the Indians. John Smith was taken prisoner and 
led into their camp. He showed them his compass, and 
told them how the needle always turned to the north, 
which so amused the Indians that, instead of killing him, 
they took him to their chief, Powhatan, who said, " The 
white man must die." He was bound hand and foot, and 
an Indian was just raising his war-club to kill him, when 
up rushed Pocahontas, a bright Indian girl, the chief's 
daughter, who threw her arms around John Smith's neck 
and begged her father to spare him. Powhatan loved 
Pocahontas, so the prisoner was released, and even al- 
lowed to return to his own people. Pocahontas became a 
good friend of the white men. She was beautiful, and 
John Rolfe fell in love with her. After their marriage 



AMERICAN HISTORICAL STORIES 205 

they went to England, where Pocahontas was everywhere 
received with great honor. The king and queen invited 
her to their palace, and all loved the gentle Indian princess. 
They intended to return to America, but Pocahontas died 
in England. Her little son, Thomas Rolfe, was well edu- 
cated in England. When he grew up he settled in Virginia. 

6. THE INDIANS' GUNPOWDER HARVEST , 

At first the Indians were very kind to the white men ; 
but after the white men began to be cruel and hard to 
them, they too grew hard and cruel, and nothing was too 
terrible for the Indians to do in revenge. They had very 
strange ways of carrying on their battles. They never 
came out and met their enemy face to face, but would 
skulk around behind trees in swamps or in the high grass. 
When the white men used guns and gunpowder, the 
Indians were terribly frightened, but it was not long be- 
fore they themselves learned to use them. One day an 
old Indian chief begged some gunpowder from a white 
man, and ran away to his wigwam with it. The white 
man watched to see what he would do with it. When he 
reached his wigwam he called some of his friends about 
him, and, after a long council together, they began to 
plant the powder. They thought it would grow like corn 
and beans. Later a French trader persuaded some Indians 
living near the Missouri River to give him skins and furs 
in exchange for gunpowder, telling them it was a seed, 
which would grow if sown in the ground. The innocent 
Indians sowed all they bought, and placed a guard to 
protect the fields from wild beasts, going out to the field 
from time to time to see if the powder was growing. 
When they found out the trick that had been played on 
them they waited until the trader's partner came to ex- 
change more goods. Then the Indians who had been 



206 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

tricked into sowing gunpowder gathered, went into his 
tent, and each helped himself to what goods he wanted. 
Soon the whole stock disappeared. The Frenchman, in 
anger, went to the chief, who said, " Yes, you shall have 
justice as soon as the gunpowder harvest is gathered." 
The Frenchman said, " Gunpowder grows in France, but 
your Missouri land is not good to produce it." 

All his arguments were in vain. The Indians said, 
" When the gunpowder harvest is reaped then the French- 
man shall have back his goods." 

So the French trader returned with less goods and less 
money than he went, finding out, when too late, that 
Indians, like some other men, can be deceived but once. 

7. THE MAYFLOWER AND THE PILGRIMS 

Over one hundred years after Columbus discovered 
America a little ship, the Mayflower, sailed away from 
England. About one hundred people came with it, who 
were called " Pilgrims." They went first from England 
to Holland, and then left their homes across the sea to 
find a new home where they would be free to worship 
God, and rule themselves in the way they wished. The 
tiny Mayflower was tossed like an egg-shell on the rough 
waves. It took more than two months for it to cross the 
ocean. The storms drove it from its course, so that in- 
stead of landing farther south, as they intended, the Pil- 
grims landed at Plymouth, There in the little cabin on 
the Mayflower forty-four men signed an agreement to 
make good laws and obey them. A little girl was the 
first Pilgrim to step off the Mayflower upon the rock 
which is now called " Plymouth Rock." As soon as all 
had landed, they gathered about that huge boulder, and 
kneeling down thanked God for their deliverance from 
the perils of the sea. Indians from behind the hilltop 



AMERICAN HISTORICAL STORIES 20/ 

peeped out at the strange visitors, and then ran away, dis- 
appearing so completely that they were not seen again 
for a long time. Two little baby boys were born on the 
Mayflower. What funny names they had! One was 
called " Peregrine," which means " wandering," and the 
other was called " Oceanus," because he was born on the 
ocean. Should you ever go to the town of Plymouth you 
will find, in Pilgrim Hall, the very cradle in which little 
Peregrine White was rocked so many years ago. And 
you will see " Plymouth Rock," now carefully sheltered, 
near the place where the Pilgrims landed in 1620, on 
December 22, which day, each year, is celebrated in 
New England as " Forefathers' Day." 

The breaking waves dash'd high 
On a stern and rock-bound coast, 

And the woods, against a stormy sky, 
Their giant branches toss'd; 

And the heavy night hung dark 

The hills and waters o'er — 
When a band of exiles moor'd their bark 

On the wild New England shore. 

Aye, call it holy ground, 

The soil where first they trod ! 
They have left unstained what there they found — 

Freedom to worship God! 

— Felicia Hemans. 



8. THE FIRST THANKSGIVING DAY 

The Pilgrims lived on the Mayflower until a log house, 
large enough for all, was built. This was surrounded by 
a high, wooden barricade to keep off the Indians and wild 
animals. Afterward the men built a house for each of 
the nineteen families. How their axes rang in the winter 



2o8 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

air, as they felled the trees for lumber to build these rude 
houses ! How nobly the wives and mothers worked in 
the bitter cold of their uncomfortable homes, washing, 
ironing, baking, brewing, pounding the corn, spinning 
the cloth, and making everything, singing cheerfully all 
the while ! How bravely the boys and girls tried to bear 
the cold and hunger without complaining, and in all their 
little ways helping their parents to build up a village out 
of the wild woods ! What a hard time they had during 
that long and bitter winter! Often they did not have 
food enough. Many Pilgrims were taken ill, and one- 
half of them died before spring came. One day a kind 
Indian, who had learned English from some fishermen 
on the coast, suddenly walked out of the woods, saying, 
" Welcome, Englishmen ! Welcome, Englishmen ! " The 
Indians showed them how to plant corn with a fish or two 
in each hill to fertilize it ; how to build a birch-bark canoe, 
snow-shoes, and moccasins. The Mayflower went to 
England and returned with plenty of food. In the sum- 
mer fine crops were gathered. So in the fall, about a 
year after they had arrived, the Pilgrims had food enough 
to last all the next winter. They were happy then and 
said, " Let us thank God." So a Thanksgiving meeting 
was held. The Pilgrims enjoyed their good dinner of 
wild turkey, and invited the friendly Indians to feast with 
them. 

This winter no famine will haunt them, 
No terror their thoughts will employ. 
In the bleak little church in the village 
Are gathered stern men and fair maids, 
Their praises are joyfully ringing 
And echo o'er high hills and glades. 
Thus passed the first day of Thanksgiving, 
With thanks that e'er came from the heart, 
And no matter how humble his station, 
Each person in them took his part. 



AMERICAN HISTORICAL STORIES 209 

9. REBECCA AND THE SNAKE 

All of this country at first was covered with great for- 
ests, except the plains and river-beds. The name " Penn- 
sylvania " means Penn's Wood. William Penn wanted to 
name the land on which he settled his colony " Sylvania," 
from the Latin word " sylva," meaning wood, because it 
was covered with woods. But King Charles II, of Eng- 
land, said, " No, it shall be called * Penn's Wood ' — 
Pennsylvania." In this great forest William Penn laid 
out the city of Philadelphia, or " Brotherly Love," which 
he wished to make " a fair and green country town, 
where men might dwell together like brothers." 

Among the very first settlers sent over from England 
by William Penn was a little girl named Rebecca, who 
lived in a house that was simply a cave dug in the bank 
of the river. One day, as she sat at the door of the 
cave, eating her bowl of milk-porridge, a snake glided 
up to her, attracted by the odor of the warm porridge, 
for snakes are very fond of milk. The kind-hearted girl 
pitied the snake, looking up at her out of its bright eyes, 
as much as to say, " I'm so hungry." " I will give thee 
half of my supper," she said, and she began to divide her 
porridge with the snake. But the greedy creature wanted 
all of it. This Rebecca would not allow. " Nay, nay," she 
said, " thou canst have only thy share ; keep to thy part.'' 
And although the snake poked its little head again and 
again into her dish, she made him withdraw it, and 
justly divided the porridge — a spoonful for the snake and 
a spoonful for herself — until every drop was gone. Then 
the snake glided away as silently as he had appeared. 
The little Quaker girl never saw him again. But she 
never forgot her strange visitor, and as long as she lived 
she had pleasure in thinking of the day when she shared 
her milk-porridge with a hungry snake. 





2IO WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

10. THE BRIDE WORTH HER WEIGHT IN SILVER 

The first coins used in the American Colonies were 
made in England and Spain, but there were so very few 
of them that the colonists were compelled to exchange 
their goods instead of receiving money. As trade in- 
creased all felt the need of some sort of money. So a 
money-law was passed and the kind of coin decided upon. 
Captain John Hull was made mint-master. The largest 
of these new coins had stamped upon them a picture of a 
pine tree, and they were called " pine-tree shillings." 
Captain Hull, for his pay, received one shilling out of 
every twenty shillings he made, and soon he had a 
strong, new chest filled with pine-tree shillings. This 
mint-master had a daughter who was a hearty girl, healthy 
and plump. A young man fell in love with her, and asked 
the captain if she might become his wife. As he was 
an industrious, honest, and good young man, her father 
consented, saying in his good-natured way, " You will find 
her a rather heavy burden, I am thinking ! " When the 
wedding-day came the mint-master was at the ceremony, 
dressed in a plum-colored coat, with bright silver buttons 
made of pine-tree shillings ; and his daughter, the fair 
bride, looked as plump and rosy as a big red apple. After 
the ceremony was over. Captain Hull told his servants 
to bring a great pair of scales. He said, " Daughter, get 
into one side of the scales," which she did. Then, point- 
ing to a big iron chest, he said to his servants, " Draw 
it near the scales." He unlocked it, raised the cover, and 
everybody was breathless when they saw the chest was 
full of bright, shining pine-tree shillings. " Lively, now, 
boys, pour these shillings into the other side of the scale," 
he said to his servants, laughing as he saw the look of 
surprise on the faces of the people. Jingle, jingle went 
the shillings as handful after handful was thrown in 



AMERICAN HISTORICAL STORIES 211 

until, big and plump as she was, the fair young bride was 
lifted from the floor. 

" There, my son," said the mint-master to the bride- 
groom, " take these shillings for my daughter's sake. 
Treat her kindly and thank God for her. It isn't every 
bride that is worth her weight in silver." 

II. EVANGELINE AND THE BURNING OF ACADIA 

America grew until thirteen colonies, like those in 
Virginia and at Plymouth, were settled by the English, 
along the coast from Maine to Florida. Because they said 
Sebastian Cabot had discovered America, England claimed 
all the new country westward to the Pacific Ocean. That 
included almost all the country there is to-day. The 
claims of England led to a bitter war with France, which 
was carried on between the French, aided by the Indians, 
and the English aided by the colonists. One of the attacks 
of this war was made on the French settlement in Acadia, 
or Nova Scotia, in the north. The people of the little 
village of Grand Pre were peaceful, home-loving families, 
who refused to take part in the war on either side, and 
would not take the oath of allegiance to England. Be- 
cause of this, the English resolved to break up this settle- 
ment and scatter its people — a heartless plan ! One bright 
morning the English soldiers in their red coats, came to 
the village and, with pretended friendliness, requested the 
people to gather into their church to hear a message of 
good news. The unsuspecting villagers left their work 
and gathered pleasantly into the church. As soon as 
they were all gathered, these redcoated British soldiers 
seized them, and at the point of the bayonet drove them 
like sheep down to the shore, crowded them on board 
several British boats, and sailed away. Families were torn 
apart ; wives lost their husbands ; mothers lost their little 



212 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

children; brothers and sisters, lovers and maidens were 
doomed never to see each other again. The poor people 
uttered piteous cries, but the hard-hearted redcoats only 
sneered and laughed at their torture. As the ship sailed 
out from the harbor, the Acadians saw the soft September 
sky all one terrible glare of fire. Then they knew that 
their homes were gone, burned in the flames. This the 
cruel soldiers had done so that these Acadians might not 
try to wander back to their old homes. Seven thousand 
of these unhappy people were dropped here and there 
from the British vessels, being distributed among the 
Colonies that there might be no possibility of their re- 
uniting. Longfellow tells of how Evangeline was sepa- 
rated from Gabriel, her lover, on their wedding-day, and 
how Gabriel was carried far away to the southland. Beau- 
tiful Evangeline set out on a long search for him^ — 
wandering on, and on, all her life, and at last, when she 
had grown old in her search, found her lover in a hospital 
on his dying bed, which proved so great a shock to her that 
she too died. The story of Evangeline's womanly devo- 
tion is the one ray of light in all that dark and terrible 
tragedy of the burning of Acadia by which an entire peo- 
ple was blotted out, never to be restored again. 

12. THE FIRST COLLEGE IN AMERICA 

The people in the thirteen English Colonies soon began 
to call themselves Americans, one and all. Those in New 
England especially valued education. It was considered 
ridiculous to educate a girl, but there were soon nine col- 
leges for boys. There was a printing-press in Cambridge, 
a public library in New York, a little manufacturing in 
Massachusetts, and quite a little commerce all along the 
coast. Most of the traveling was done on horseback, 
though there were some stage routes. Steam-cars and 



AMERICAN HISTORICAL STORIES 213 

automobiles were unheard of. Next to their churches the 
people of New England loved their schools. The city of 
Boston had been settled only six years when one day 
the governor of Massachusetts received a letter from his 
sister in England, who refused to come to America be- 
cause there was no college where her son could be edu- 
cated. In her letter she said : " If only there were some 
place of learning for youths, it would make me go far 
nimbler to New England, if God should call me to it, than 
I otherwise should; and I believe a college would put no 
small life into the plantation." This letter set the gover- 
nor thinking and planning, and very soon he convinced 
those in control that a college should be established. The 
money was raised, and Harvard College was built. This 
little red, square building, that has stood in Cambridge 
for over two hundred years, was the first college in 
America. 

13. THE BOSTON TEA PARTY 

The thirteen colonies along the coast obeyed the laws of 
England, and were proud of the " Mother Land," as 
they called England, until the new king, George III, 
made the colonists pay taxes on the goods they received 
from England. They felt this was wrong so long as they 
had no part in deciding what taxes they should pay, and 
had no representation in the law-making. " We are no 
slaves, or children ! We have rights, and our rights should 
be respected," they said. The king replied, "The 
Americans shall pay a tax only on tea." In anger the 
colonists said : " We will never drink tea, if we have to 
pay a tax upon it. We will drink tea made of sage and 
raspberry leaves first." 

In Charleston the tea was taken oflf the ships and 
left in damp cellars to spoil because no one would buy it. 
New York and Philadelphia did not even allow the tea- 



214 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

ships to land; and when they sailed into Boston Harbor, 
the people held a great meeting in Faneuil Hall and in 
South Church. Samuel Adams and John Hancock, their 
leaders, made grand speeches. Some one cried out, " I 
wonder how the tea would taste with salt water ? " This 
made everybody laugh. But that night fifty men, dressed 
up and painted like Indians, went out to the harbor, rowed 
out to the tea-ships and threw overboard three hundred 
and forty-two chests of tea into the sea. The next morn- 
ing the tea was seen washed up on the shore. When the 
colonists heard of this Tea Party all were happy — but 
King George said, " The leaders shall die for this ! " And 
that was the beginning of the war of the Revolution. 

14. PAUL REVERE's ride 

One of the leaders in the Boston Tea Party, on De- 
cember 16, 1773, was Paul Revere. He was a copper- 
plate engraver in Boston, greatly interested in the rights 
of the colonists. When the King of England heard how 
the people of Boston had treated his tea, he ordered 
Boston Harbor to be closed, not allowing ships to go in 
or out. He also forbade their holding town meetings lest 
they should talk and plan mischief against him, and he 
determined to hang the leaders of the tea-party, if he 
could catch them. He appointed a new governor, who 
at once asked the king for more soldiers, which were sent. 
The Boston people watched these soldiers closely, and 
had spies to find out all their plans. One of these spies 
was Paul Revere. Secretly the Americans stored guns 
and powder and bullets at Concord, about twenty miles 
from Boston. They were afraid the British would march 
from Boston and take these stores which were for their 
use in case of trouble. Samuel Adams and John Hancock 
had gone to Lexington because they were not safe in 




STONE MARKING THE LINE OF THE MINUTE MEN AT LEXINGTON 



AMERICAN HISTORICAL STORIES 215 

Boston. So the new general secretly ordered eight hundred 
soldiers to go and arrest these two leaders at Lexington 
and take the supplies from Concord. When Paul Revere 
learned of this plan he told a friend to watch their 
movements. If they started to go by land, his friend was 
to hang one lantern in the tower of Old North Church. If 
they went by boat he was to hang up two lanterns. Then 
Paul Revere silently rowed across the river and saddled 
his horse ready to start. He saw that every strap and 
buckle was in place, and quietly waited for the light. At 
last he thought he saw a spark, so he sprang into the 
saddle. Then he waited a little. Yes, there were two 
lights in the old bell-tower. They were going by sea. 
Off he dashed, faster and faster, over bridges and through 
towns, stopping at every house to cry out, " Awake, the 
British are coming!" A bell rang out at Lexington to 
help arouse the people. The " Minute Men " from all the 
country round came with their guns. When the British 
got there they found their secret was out. Just at sunrise 
the redcoats met the " Minute Men." The English 
major cried, " Disperse ! " They did not move. He then 
commanded his soldiers to fire. Eight were killed. Men 
with muskets sprang up on all sides. This was the first 
battle of the great Revolutionary war that made America 
free from England. Through all our history to the last, 
the American people will never forget 

The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed, 
And the midnight message of Paul Revere. 

15. NATHAN HALE 

Nathan Hale, a young man of twenty, had just gradu- 
ated from Yale College, and was a school-teacher in Con- 
necticut when the war of Independence began. At once 
he enlisted in the American army, saying, " Let us not 



2l6 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

lay down our arms till we have gained independence." 
When General Washington moved his army from Boston 
to Brooklyn, Nathan Hale, early one morning, when it 
was darkest, rowed out with a few friends to an English 
supply ship and sailed it away from the man-of-war that 
was guarding it and brought it in safety to the American 
camp. For this brave deed he was promoted to become 
" Captain " Hale. Soon after this a call was made for a 
volunteer for a most dangerous service. The British held 
possession of the lower part of New York City, and were 
planning a further advance, and Washington greatly 
needed to know their plans. It was agreed to send a spy 
to get these. But who would volunteer ? " I will under- 
take it," said Captain Hale. He walked fifty miles up 
Long Island Sound, along the Connecticut shore and then 
rowed over to Long Island. Disguised as a traveling 
school-teacher, he visited all the English camps, making 
drawings and notes which he hid in his shoes. On his 
way back he was betrayed by a man who knew him, a 
traitor to the American cause. He was taken on board 
the English ship, carried back to New York and led 
before General Howe. The English general said : " You 
shall be pardoned and receive money and a fine position 
in the English army if you will give up the American 
cause." He said, " I cannot turn against my country ! " 
" Then you can die for her," said the general, and sen- 
tenced him to die at daybreak. He listened to his sentence 
without a word, erect and fearless. At break of day the 
young spy, brave as a lion, faced his death without a 
tremor. 

In City Hall Park, New York City, not far from the 
jail in which he was kept that last night, and as near 
as possible to the spot where he died, is the statue of 
this noble, young patriot-martyr, who in such heroic un- 
selfishness laid down all he possessed for his country. 



AMERICAN HISTORICAL STORIES 21/ 

Upon the statue you will read his last words : " I regret 
that I have but one life to give for my country." 

l6. GENERAL REED AND THE BRIBE 

General Joseph Reed was a prominent American officer 
in the Revolutionary war. He was a man of great in- 
fluence and loyal to the interests of his country. The 
English officers were anxious to secure some one who 
would be a traitor to the American cause of liberty and 
who would serve them. One day Governor Johnson, one 
of the three Commissioners of King George III, came 
to Joseph Reed and whispered secretly : " I will give you 
fifty thousand dollars and a public office besides, under 
the British Government, if you will agree to promote the 
British interests." General Reed replied quickly : " I am 
not worth purchasing; but such as I am, the King of 
Great Britain is not rich enough to buy me ! " 

No wonder that such a patriot, loyal to honor and to 
his country, was admired even among those who offered 
the bribe, while that other general, Benedict Arnold, who 
actually received the bribe to betray his country, has 
ever since been despised by Englishmen as well as by 
Americans. 

17. THE FIRST FOURTH OF JULY 

After the Battle of Lexington swift messengers rode 
in all directions over the land telling the tidings that the 
struggle for American independence was begun. The 
news set the people aflame with excitement. Men 
dropped whatever they had in hand to join the little army 
under George Washington, who was elected general of 
the American soldiers. The colonists now believed that 
nothing but liberty would save them. Men like Patrick 
Henry of Virginia said, " Give me liberty or give me 



2l8 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

death!" So, on July 4, 1776, at the State House in 
Philadelphia, the Declaration of Independence, prepared 
by Thomas Jefferson, was discussed. Above the State 
House where they met hung a great bell. The old bell- 
ringer sat there ready to ring the bell the moment the 
declaration was signed. His little grandson was at the 
foot of the stairs to tell him when to ring. The old man 
waited and waited. At last he heard the little boy run- 
ning up the stairs, shouting, " Ring, grandpa ! Ring, 
grandpa ! Ring for liberty ! " The old man took hold of 
the bell-rope, and the glad news of liberty rang out over 
the city. The bell was kept ringing for two hours. The 
crowds in the street shouted, " We are free ! " " We are 
free ! " Flags were waved, bonfires were lighted ; parades 
were formed ; speeches were made ; and, as the news 
spread, the joy increased everywhere ! That was the first 
Fourth of July. 

18. Washington's Christmas victory 

It was the winter of the year in which the Declaration 
of Independence was signed, 1776, when Washington, 
with his little army of three thousand patriots, beaten, 
and driven out of Brooklyn, out of New York, out of 
New Jersey, finally crossed the Delaware River, at the 
same hour that General Cornwallis, the most skilful of all 
the British leaders, with a much larger army, reached 
Trenton. The cold was intense. The patriots were in rags ; 
many were barefooted, and the route was marked by their 
footprints of blood. Congress was fleeing in panic from 
Philadelphia to Baltimore. Terror spread everywhere, 
and many Americans hastened to put themselves under 
British protection. But amid all, Washington never lost 
his courage. Having seized all the boats along the Dela- 
ware, for many miles up and down the river, he intended 



AMERICAN HISTORICAL STORIES 219 

to surprise the Hessian soldiers (whom the Enghsh had 
hired) at Trenton on Christmas night when he knew they 
would be sure to be spending their time in feasting and 
merriment. Amid a storm of sleet and snow, bitterly cold, 
on Christmas evening, Washington and twenty-five hun- 
dred picked men pushed their flatboats through the grind- 
ing blocks of ice, and during the night the entire force 
landed on the other side of the Delaware, and before the 
bleak, wintry morning dawned, they had surrounded 
Trenton. The garrison of one thousand Hessian soldiers 
was surprised and captured, with the loss of but four 
Americans. Colonel Rail, the Hessian commander, being 
wounded and suffering greatly, limped slowly up to where 
Washington was seated on his horse and handed him his 
sword, begging him to be merciful to the captured men. 
Washington gave the promise, expressing his sympathy 
with the wounded officer, upon whom he called after he 
was carried to a house and laid upon a bed, and spent 
some time in trying to cheer his last moments. This 
Battle of Trenton did what Washington intended — elec- 
trified the despairing patriots, increased enlistments, and 
inspired hope throughout the land. It was the turning- 
point of the Revolution. It was Washington's Christmas 
gift to the American people. 

I/' 

19. THE HEROINE OF NORTH CAROLINA 

One summer day when the wild red roses of North 
Carolina were in bloom around her door-step, Mistress 
x\she stood at her opened door, and shading her eyes, saw 
a cloud of dust that grew larger until an English army 
was seen coming nearer and nearer. " Look," cried her 
sister, " at the head of the column rides that braggart, 
Colonel Tarleton ! Have you heard of the threefold oath 
that he registered recently on the banks of the Roanoke in 



220 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

Virginia ? " " No, tell me in all haste," answered Mrs. 
Ashe, " for they are now almost within ear-shot." " He 
swore," said the sister, " that he will plant the flag of old 
England on every housetop in our land; if not on the 
turret, then on the ashes of every building. He swore that 
he will carry our noble leader. General Washington, in 
chains to England. He swore that he will quaff a 
stirrup-cup (a lucky drink) to these horrid accomplish- 
ments from the Ashe punch-bowl." 

The sound of tramping deadened her voice. As the 
army came up General Leslie graciously asked the de- 
fenseless women for food and drink, which were brought 
at once and placed on the mahogany table. While they 
were eating and drinking, Colonel Tarleton, without hint 
of his oath, led the talk to the famous Ashe punch-bowl. 
He told General Leslie how it was old in England before 
the Pilgrims came ; how in America it had grown thrice 
precious to its owner, because almost every American 
leader of the Revolution had quaffed delightful draughts 
from its crystal depths ; how five officers of the Revolu- 
tionary army, all of the one name and blood of Ashe, 
had gathered around that bowl." And then, turning to 
Mrs. Ashe he said : " Mistress Ashe, since you have so 
amply entertained your foes, can you not add to your hos- 
pitality, I pray you, a draught from the Ashe punch- 
bowl?" 

Mrs. Ashe ordered the punch-bowl to be filled, and rich 
red roses to be brought to crown it, but she trembled to 
think if this cunning colonel succeeded in quaffing a lucky- 
drink to his declared designs from that bowl, destruction 
indeed might await her country and its leaders. She 
arose from her seat at the head of the table. General 
Leslie and his officers arose with her. Then she said: 
" General Leslie, from this bowl the brave and the bravest 
have sipped, and to such, whether friend or foe, I give 



AMERICAN HISTORICAL STORIES 221 

a draught from this bowl." She then handed the General 
a glass of the brew, and, while he held his glass in his 
hand, waiting the filling of the other glasses, she took 
the roses from the bowl and put them in her hair, and then 
she turned to Colonel Tarleton : *' Sir, I have heard of your 
threefold oath — that you have sworn to plant the flag 
of England on the roof of every American house or on its 
ruins ; that you have sworn to carry our leader, Washing- 
ton, in chains to the foot of your English throne; and 
that you have sworn to drink your stirrup-cup, before you 
ride forth on the accomplishment of these intents, from 
the Ashe punch-bowl." 

There was a moment's silence, then she continued: 
" Heaven grant that our leaders in war may become our 
rulers in peace ! " While saying this she put her slender 
hands about the heavy bowl, lifted it high above her head, 
and then dashed the punch-bowl to the floor. " Never, 
Colonel Tarleton," she cried, " never from the Ashe 
punch-bowl shall cup be offered to the cruel foeman of 
my people ! " The bowl was broken into a hundred pieces 
and the floor was sprinkled as with crimson blood. Out- 
side the door the red roses blossomed in the sunlight, but 
nevermore would any of them crown rich libations in the 
once priceless, now shattered, punch-bowl of the Ashes 
of North Carolina. 



20. THE HEROINE OF OHIO ^ 

In a little village in Ohio, on the banks of the Ohio 
River, there was a large fort called Fort Henry, which 
belonged to the colonists. When the Indians, who were 
fighting on the side of the English, attacked the village, 
all the men, women, and children fled to the fort. The 
Indians then attacked the fort, and all the men who went 
out to fight them were killed or taken prisoners. At last 



222 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

only twelve men were left in the fort to protect the 
women and children. When the colonists began to pre- 
pare for the second attack, they found their supply of 
powder almost exhausted, and without powder they knew 
death was near. Captain Zane called the twelve men 
together and said : " In my house there is a keg of powder. 
I do not wish to order any man to go for it, as it is a very 
dangerous thing to do, but I would like to have some one 
offer to go." Several young men at once volunteered. 
" It means almost certain death," said the captain. " I 
know that," replied one young man, " but we must have 
the powder. To stay means death to all." Just then the 
captain's sister, Elizabeth, a girl of fourteen, stepped for- 
ward. " I will go for tlie powder," she said ; " you cannot 
spare one of the men, they are all wanted to protect the 
fort. If we are captured by the Indians, I shall surely 
be killed. So please let me go." 

At that Captain Zane said, " No ! No ! " But he soon 
saw she was right ; not a man could be spared. The gate 
of the fort opened and the girl ran quickly out. The 
Indians saw her and cried in surprise, " A squaw ! a 
squaw ! " but no Indian tried to shoot her. She entered 
the house and found the keg of powder, but it was too 
heavy for her to carry, so, girllike, she emptied the powder 
into her apron, and started back amid the firing of the 
Indians, but although their arrows whistled over her head, 
she ran swiftly on and reached the gate in safety. 

With the help of the powder the colonists were able to 
keep the Indians away that night. The next morning 
more men came and the Indians were driven away, and 
so the colonists of Ohio won a great victory. 

The story of this fight at Fort Henry is often told, and 
the name of Elizabeth Zane. the brave girl who carried 
the apronful of powder to the men in the fort, will be 
remembered as long as brave deeds shall be told. 



AMERICAN HISTORICAL STORIES 223 

21. PUTNAM AND THE WOLF 

Israel Putnam, as a boy, lived with his father on a 
farm in Connecticut when wolves were still there. Every 
winter an old mother wolf would come with a family 
of young wolves with her. The hunters always killed 
the young wolves, but could not catch the mother. One 
winter this old wolf killed seventy sheep and goats in one 
night. All the farmers started out to find her. They 
saw her track in the snow and after a long hunt their 
dogs drove her into a cave. They sent the dogs into the 
cave, but the wolf bit them and drove them out again. 
Then they put straw in the cave and set fire to it to 
smoke her out. It made the wolf sneeze, but she would 
not come out. Then Israel Putnam said, " I will go dowtx 
into the cave and bring her out." So they tied a rope 
to his legs and let him down into the cave. He held in 
his hand a burning piece of birch-bark, for he knew wild 
animals are afraid to face fire. He crawled along on his 
hands and knees in the narrow cave, holding the blazing 
bark, until he could see the wolf's eyes. The wolf gave a 
sudden growl. Putnam jerked the rope and the men 
pulled him out quickly. He was badly scratched by the 
rocks and his clothes torn, but he got his gun and went 
in again. This time the wolf growled and snapped 
angrily, but he shot the wolf and brought her out dead. 
The sheep had peace after that. 

22. BOONE AND HIS SWING ' 

Daniel Boone was an early settler in Kentucky. He 
knew all about the woods and the ways of the animals 
and the Indians. Almost all the men that went with 
him into Kentucky were killed by the wild wolves or the 
savage Indians. One day when Daniel Boone was left 



224 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

alone in his cabin, four Indians came to kill him. He 
made his escape over a hill, but the Indians ran after 
him. He ran as fast as he could till he reached a wild 
grape-vine, which he saw reached to the top of a high 
tree, and was long enough to swing over a steep ravine. 
When he was a boy he had often made a swing of a wild 
grave-vine like this. So he quickly cut the vine off near 
the roots, took hold of it and swung out into the air 
with all his might. He was carried far out as he swung 
over the ravine. Then he let go, and as soon as he fell 
to the ground he ran away in a direction in which he 
knew the Indians could not find him. When the Indians 
came up to the place they could not find his tracks any- 
where. So Daniel Boone was saved by a swing. 

23. KIT CARSON AND THE BEARS 

Kit Carson knew all about wild animals. He was a 
great hunter and a good guide to soldiers and settlers. 
On a march one day, as he was dragging an elk he had 
just shot for supper, he saw two bears running toward 
him. His gun was empty. He threw it down, ran as 
fast as he could, and reached a tree just as the bears 
reached him. He caught hold of a branch and swung 
himself up in the tree just in time. Bears know how to 
climb trees, and soon they were climbing up in the lower 
branches. Kit Carson broke off a limb, and from the 
highest branch, where he hung, he began clubbing the 
bears over the nose, their tender spot. " Whack ! 
Whack ! " The stick hurt, and the bears whined and 
growled with pain. First one bear and then the other 
tried to get at him, but each got his nose hurt. When 
their noses felt better they tried again. But Kit Carson 
pounded faster and harder than ever. One of the bears 
cried like a baby. Then both bears got down and went 



AMERICAN HISTORICAL STORIES 22$ 

away and never came back again. They were too busy 
rubbing their noses. 

24. THE HEROINE OF GETTYSBURG 

One morning in the awful days of the Civil War the 
boys in blue and the boys in gray met together for their 
decisive battle near the little town of Gettysburg, Pa. 
Hearing that this town was to be the center of the battle, 
a neighbor ran into a little red-brick cottage and cried, 
" Jennie, you must remove your folks at once." " Hush, 
hush ! " she whispered, " there's a little new-born baby 
and its mother in the next room, and they cannot be 
moved whatever happens." " Why girl, the shells will 
crash through these brick walls as through paper ! " said 
the man. " No matter, my sister and her babe cannot be 
moved, and I must stay here with mother to care for 
them," replied Jennie, and the neighbor hastened sadly 
away. 

Tramp, tramp, tramp, marched regiment after regiment 
in turn belonging to both sides, as they passed the little 
cottage, and Jennie noticed that every soldier's eye rested 
eagerly on the windlass of the well in front of the little 
red-brick cottage, for the July sun shone hot in the sky. 
" They are thirsty," said Jennie, as she filled the old oaken 
bucket from the well, and brought out every dipper and 
ladle and cup she could find for the soldiers to fill their 
canteens or to drink as they hurriedly tramped by. " I'm 
glad I did not go away," she said ; " there is something 
I can do here to help others." And so she helped all she 
could until the troops had passed by for the battle. Later 
in the day the tide of the battle turned. The boys in gray 
reached the ridge and captured the town of Gettysburg. 
Then the boys in blue, on the run, retreated, moaning and 
groaning as they rushed past the little red-brick house, 
p 



226 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

which now became the very center of the battle. Cannon, 
Hke thunder, shook the ground. Bullets, like hailstones, 
fell around them. Balls crashed through windows and 
walls as through paper, as the neighbor had said. The 
space around the well was strewn with the dead and 
dying. Hungry men begged for bread and the brave girl 
gave everything she had until she had not a crumb left. 
Then she said, " Fll make some bread." But scarcely 
were the loaves in the oven before a loud knock was heard 
at the door, and a soldier-boy stood there pleading, " I'm 
so hungry. Give me a bit of bread." It would be three 
hours before the bread was baked, but biscuit would soon 
be ready, she thought. She quickly took up the dough 
and was remixing it to make biscuits, when whizz ! a rifle- 
ball crashed through the open door, striking the girl in 
the breast, and she fell to the floor dead ! 

That night they buried Jennie Wade, with the dough 
still in her hands — buried her as thousands were buried, 
on the field of Gettysburg, without ceremony. Should you 
visit her grave in the little cemetery there, on her tomb- 
stone you would see these words : " Jennie Wade, died 
aged nineteen. She hath done what she could ! " 

25. HOBSON AND THE MERRIMAC 

When the United States was at war with Spain in 
1898, a Spanish fleet crossed the Atlantic and sailed into 
Santiago Bay. Commodore Schley at once sailed his 
squadron of ships there to prevent the escape of the 
Spanish fleet, and he was soon joined by Rear-admiral 
Sampson, who took charge of the whole American fleet. 
The entrance to Santiago Bay is so long and narrow, 
that, knowing it was full of mines and protected by forts 
on either side, the American Government would not allow 
Sampson's fleet to try to force an entrance. So all the 



AMERICAN HISTORICAL STORIES 22'J 

ships could do was to shell the forts along the coast and 
keep watch day and night. The Americans knew that if 
a storm arose and their ships should be obHged to run 
out to sea, the Spanish admiral would take advantage of 
it and run out of the harbor and possibly attack some of 
the ill-defended coast towns. The navy was very anxious 
to find a way of blocking the harbor so that the Spanish 
fleet could not get out. Admiral Sampson decided to run 
the Merrimac into the channel at night, swing it across 
the narrow point and sink it there, thus making a barrier 
which could not easily be removed. " Who will under- 
take this service of sinking the Merrimac ? " was the 
question, and immediately there were far more men than 
could be used. Naval Constructor Hobson, with some 
brave volunteers, was assigned the task, which seemed 
in all probability to mean certain death. At three o'clock 
in the morning the Merrimac entered the narrow channel 
and steamed in under the guns of the great Morro Castle. 
The stillness of the night was broken by the wash of a 
small patrol boat approaching from the shore. The boat 
ran close up under the stern of the Merrimac and fired 
several shots, one of which carried away the rudder. In 
a moment the guns from the Spanish ships and forts were 
turned upon the Merrimac; and although torpedoes ex- 
ploded all around them, and mines went off under them, 
Hobson coolly gave his orders. The torpedoes were 
touched off, and as the Merrimac sank, he and his men 
were swept overboard into the chilling waters. There, 
escaping death as by a miracle, they clung to an old raft. 
When the Merrimac sank the Spaniards cheered wildly, 
thinking they had sunk an American ship trying to steal 
into the harbor unseen. Many boats pushed out from 
the shore to examine the wreck. A Spanish launch came 
toward the raft. Hobson and his men agreed to capture 
this boat and run away. But just as she came close the 



228 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

heads of half a dozen Spanish soldiers peeped up and each 
man pointed his rifle at the heads of the Americans.. " Is 
there any officer in that boat to receive a surrender of 
prisoners of war ? " Hobson shouted. An old man leaned 
out under the awning and waved his hand. It was Ad- 
miral Cervera. The soldiers lowered their rifles, and the 
prisoners were helped into the launch. Hobson and his 
brave companions spent more than a month in Spanish 
prisons, but at length an exchange of prisoners made it 
possible for them to be returned in safety, and ever since 
the story of Hobson and the sinking of the Merrimac has 
been told as one of the most heroic deeds in the history 
of modern times. 

26. BETSY ROSS AND THE FLAG 

Americans who have lived some time in other coun- 
tries say that when they see the American flag floating 
from the mast of a ship in a foreign land a lump rises 
in the throat and " the Stars and Stripes," with its bright 
red, white, and blue, seems to be the most beautiful 
emblem in all the world. Do you know how it was first 
made, and why ? When George Washington was leading 
his soldiers in the war for liberty, he felt that the new 
nation needed a flag. He said : " We must have a flag, 
one flag for all the Colonies." Every country needs a flag 
to float over the homes of its people, to carry in parades, 
to wave on the masts of the ships at sea and in foreign 
harbors, and to inspire its citizens and soldiers to patriot- 
ism. At first there had been flags of all kinds among the 
colonists, the commonest having a rattlesnake upon it, 
with the motto, " Don't tread on me," and another, called 
the Union flag (with stripes as at present, and the double 
cross of the British flag instead of stars), was unfurled 
for the first time on New Year's Day, 1776, at Cambridge. 



AMERICAN HISTORICAL STORIES 229 

The matter of a new flag for the new people was talked 
over, and on June 14, 1777, by a resolution of Congress, 
it was decided upon. Washington, assisted by a com- 
mittee, drew a picture of the flag he wanted — one with 
thirteen stripes to represent the thirteen States that had 
fought for freedom. These stripes were to be one red 
and one white. On a field of blue in the corner, near 
the staflF, there were to be thirteen stars. Then, of course, 
those men knew they must find a woman to make the flag. 
The men could plan for it, but a woman must make it. 

In Philadelphia there lived a young woman named 
Betsy Ross, who, with her husband, kept a small furniture 
and upholstering shop, and who did a great deal of sew- 
ing. She sewed beautifully, -and had often been hired to 
make flags for the river-boats and other kinds of boats. 
One day, as she sat sewing in her shop, she heard a knock 
at her door. She opened it, and there stood George 
Washington and another gentleman. The general showed 
her a picture of the flag he wanted with its stripes and 
six-pointed stars. " No," she said, " that will not do. 
The stars must be prettier than those, A correct star 
has only five points." She quickly folded up a piece of 
paper just right and with one snip of her scissors clipped 
the paper, and there was a beautiful five-pointed star. 
Washington was greatly pleased with the star and also 
with the skilful fingers of Betsy Ross, and so she was 
given the order for the first American flag. This first 
flag was made the next day in the little shop, still stand- 
ing at 239 Arch Street, Philadelphia, where she continued 
to carry on the flag business many years after the death 
of her husband, who was wounded during the war while 
guarding some military stores. Her children succeeded 
her in the business at her death. Since the first flag with 
its thirteen stripes and thirteen stars, there has been added 
a new star for every State admitted to the Union. 



230 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

One of the first American war vessels, named the Re- 
prisal, is said to have been the first vessel that, in 1777, 
carried " Old Glory " on the ocean. Ever since, when- 
ever this American flag has floated in the air, its message 
has been, " America, the land of the free." Its red sings, 
" Be brave " ; its blue says, " Be true " ; its white means, 
" Be pure." 

27. THE MAN WHO WROTE " AMERICA " 

The beautiful hymn, " America," our national anthem, 
which is loved and sung all over our land, and all over the 
world wherever the Stars and Stripes is honored, was 
composed by Dr. Samuel Francis Smith. He was born in 
Boston, Mass., October 21, 1808. In childhood he lived 
not far from the Old North Church. When he looked 
up at the tower in which Paul Revere hung the lantern, 
perhaps there came into his heart that love for his coun- 
try which years afterward he put into his song. One 
holiday when his grandmother was coming on a visit to 
his home, he stood at the window, expecting she would 
bring him a present. When she came without a present 
the little fellow said solemnly, " All days are alike ! " He 
was so obedient that when he went out to play he would 
ask, " How many slides may I take, mother ? " And when 
he had taken just the number his mother told him, he 
would come in. 

When Samuel was eight years old a pet cat belonging 
to one of the neighbors died, and was buried in the garden. 
The next morning the owners of the cat found on its 
grave a stick with a piece of paper fastened to it, and 
on the paper some verses. This was his first poem. At 
twelve he wrote another, and after that, many more. He 
went to what is now the Eliot School in North Bennett 
Street, Boston, where he won the gold medal. From 



AMERICAN HISTORICAL STORIES 23I 

there he went to the Boston Latin School, and there, 
also, he won the medal. Then to Harvard, and to the 
Andover Theological Seminary. He graduated from 
Harvard in 1829, in the class with Dr. Oliver Wendell 
Holmes, who sang of him in his poem, " The Boys " : 

And there's a nice youngster of excellent pith, 
Fate tried to conceal him by calling him Smith, 
But he shouted a song for the Brave and the Free, 
Just read on his medal, " My Country, of Thee. 

Doctor Holmes wrote further : " The name of Dr. 
Samuel F. Smith will be honored by every school child 
in the land when I have been forgotten one hundred years. 
He wrote ' My Country.' If he had said ' Our Country,' 
the hymn would not have been remembered, but that 
' My ' was a master-stroke. Every one who sings it 
at once feels a personal ownership in his native land." 

During the senior year at Andover Seminary, in 1832, 
W. C. Woodridge, a friend of young Smith, brought 
from Germany a book of patriotic songs and said, " Please 
make me a poetical translation." As this young senior 
and poet was turning over the leaves of the song-book he 
came across the air of an easy patriotic tune which pleased 
him. As he was translating " God Save the King," taken 
with the words, he thought how fine it would be to 
have an American patriotic anthem. Under the impulse 
of the moment he picked up a scrap of waste paper and 
his quill pen and began to write, and in half an hour the 
four verses of the poem, " America," were written as they 
stand to-day. Later his friend Lowell Mason saw the 
poem, liked it, and put it into his music-book, and it has 
floated around the world. Doctor Smith said he heard it 
sung above the earth, on Pike's Peak, and under the 
earth, in the Cave of the Winds, and on the earth in a 
gre?.t many lands. It was first sung publicly at a Sunday- 



232 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

school celebration, in the Park Street Church, Boston, and 
since, in days of peace and prosperity, through the 
crisis of the Civil War, and on almost all public occasions, 
it has gradually won recognition as our national anthem, 
without the ceremonial of adoption in any historic sense. 
Public-school teachers find it most helpful in awakening 
a love for the new country among the mixed races of 
child immigrants who must be molded into patriotic 
American citizens. In association with Lowell Mason, 
Doctor Smith wrote the first song-book for boys and girls 
ever published in the United States. It is remarkable 
that the national anthems of America, of England, and of 
Prussia should have the same tune, Henry Carey is often 
credited with this tune. The English, however, did not in- 
vent it. The Germans got it from the Norsemen, who had 
heard it sung by Finns, who got it from Huns, who 
brought it from Asia. Something like it was sung by the 
Jews in the first temple, and it may have come from the 
Egyptians. It is a solemn and majestic strain, suitable 
to some of the Psalms of David : 

Our fathers' God ! to thee, 
Author of liberty! 

To thee we sing: 
Long may our land be bright 
With freedom's holy light, 
Protect us by thy might, 

Great God, our King! 



X 

HEROES OF PEACE 
(Adapted for Children^ Nine to Fourteen Years.) 

I. THE BOY HERO OF HOLLAND 

ONCE there was a good boy who had a kind-hearted 
mother. One afternoon she said : " Here, Peter, are 
some cakes I want you to take to the poor old bHnd man 
who is very ill, and who lives a mile and a half away from 
town. If you go quickly and do not stop to play, you 
will be home before it is dark." Peter took the cakes to 
the poor old blind man, who said, " You are a kind- 
hearted boy; thank your mother for me." Light-hearted 
because he had made the blind man happy, Peter was 
walking home when suddenly he noticed a little stream 
of water trickling through the great bank on the side 
of the road. This was in Holland, where much of the 
land is below the level of the sea, and where dikes are 
built by the people to keep back the sea. Every boy in 
Holland knows the danger of even a small leak in the 
dike. Peter understood at once that this tiny stream 
would soon make a large hole and the whole city would 
be flooded. In a moment he saw what he must do. He 
climbed down the side of the dike and thrust his chubby 
little hand and finger into the tiny hole and stopped the 
flowing of the water. Then he cried out for help, but no 
one heard him; no one came to help. It grew dark, 
and cold ; he was hungry ; his arm ached and it began to 
grow stiff and numb. He shouted again : " O mother ! 
mother ! " But his mother thought Peter must be spend- 

233 



234 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

ing the night with the bHnd man, and did not know of 
his danger. Peter thought how warm and cozy all at 
home were sleeping in their beds, and he said to himself, 
" I will not let them be drowned! " So that good boy 
stayed there all night long, holding back the water. Early 
next morning, a minister on his way to visit the sick, 
heard a groan, saw the boy, and called out to him, " What 
is the matter, my boy? Are you hurt? Why are you 
sitting there ? " When Peter told him what he had done, 
the minister said, " I will hold my hand there while you 
run quickly to the town and get help." Very soon men 
came and repaired the leak in the dike, but all knew that 
Peter, by his courage and faithfulness, had saved the 
town of Haarlem that night. 

2, THE GERMAN PATRIOT AND THE BARLEY-FIELDS 

Once there was a terrible battle in Germany, and thou- 
sands of soldiers were scattered over the country. A cap- 
tain who had many men and horses to feed was told by his 
colonel to get food from the farmers near-by. The cap- 
tain walked for some time through the broad valley, and 
at last knocked at the door of a small cottage. A man, 
old and lame and leaning on a stick, opened the door. 
" Good morning," said the captain, " Will you please 
show me a field where my soldiers can cut grain for our 
army? We cannot pay for it." The old man led the 
soldiers through the valley for about a mile, when they 
saw a field of rich barley waving in the breeze. 

" That is just what we want," said the captain. " No, 
not yet," said the old man ; " follow me a little farther." 
After some time they came to a second field of barley. 
The soldiers got off their horses, cut the grain, tied the 
sheaves, and rode away with them. Then the captain said 
to the old man, "Why did you make us come so far? 



HEROES OF PEACE 235 

The first field of barley was better than this one." " That 
is true, sir," answered the old man, " but it was not 
mine ! " — Adapted from " Ethics for Children/' by E. L. 
Cabot. 

3. THE JAPANESE AND THE EARTHQUAKE 

Once in far-away Japan there lived a rich man who 
owned a large ranch — not of alfalfa, or wheat, or other 
grain — but of rice. One afternoon he stood looking over 
his large fields of rice, saying, " What a rich man this 
great harvest makes me ! " Suddenly he felt an earth- 
quake and saw that the waves of the sea were running 
away from the land and rolling far out. He knew that it 
would only be a little while before the waves*would return 
in a great flood, which would overflow the little strip of 
land along the seashore, in the valley below the high 
plain on which his ranch was situated, and all the people 
in the little village would be drowned. It was a holiday 
and the people in their merrymaking and fun and laughter 
had not noticed the earthquake. The rich man cried to 
his servants, " Bring torches ! make haste ! set fire to the 
rice ! " Then he and his servants set on fire stack after 
stack of the rice. In a moment the flames and smoke rose 
high, the big bell from the village pealed the fire-signal, 
and all the boys and girls and men and women ran up the 
hill as fast as they could to see the fire, and to try to save 
the rice-crop of the rich man. When they saw him 
setting fire to his rice, they shouted, " Look, he is mad ; 
he is setting fire to his rice." " Look ! " shouted the old 
man. They looked and saw the raging and surging waves 
of the sea come rolling in. They looked again a few 
moments later and saw nothing but the straw which had 
been the thatched roofs of their homes tossing on the 
waters and their whole village blotted out by the sea. 
" That is why I set fire to my rice," said the old Japanese. 



236 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

" If I had not done that you would have all been drowned 
in those waves ! " He stood among them almost as poor 
as any of them, but he had the consciousness that by the 
sacrifice of his fortune he had saved four hundred lives 
that day. — Adapted from " Gleanings in Buddha-fields," 
by L. Hearn. 

4. THE RUSSIAN SERVANT 

One cold winter day long ago a Russian nobleman and 
his wife were traveling across the plains of Russia in a 
sleigh drawn by six horses, and their two servants on 
horseback were riding beside them. Suddenly they heard 
the howling of a great pack of wolves that had been 
driven by cold and hunger from the mountains. The 
nobleman at once ordered one of the servants to ride on 
faster to the town and bring them other horses while 
he drove those he had more swiftly. The wolves came 
nearer and nearer. The other servant begged his master 
to allow him to loose his horse for the wolves to devour, 
hoping in this way to save time. But as soon as the 
servant sprang into the sleigh the frightened horse was 
torn into a thousand pieces by the fierce wolves, and 
they were back again more bloodthirsty than before. 
While the servant fought them off from the back of the 
sleigh the nobleman cut loose one after another of the 
horses, until he had but two left. Then the servant said, 
" I will spring among them and that will give you time 
to escape ! " " No ! no ! " cried the nobleman. " See the 
lights of the city in the distance. We are almost safe! " 
But the wolves were again upon them and there seemed 
no other way, so the servant sprang from the sleigh, 
fought and drove back the wolves as far as he could to 
save all the time possible, but at last he was overcome by 
their great numbers and was devoured. A few moments 
later the Russian nobleman and his wife, with the two 



HEROES OP PEACE 237 

horses and the sleigh, passed in through the gate of the 

city in safety, conscious that they had been saved only by 

the great self-sacrifice of their faithful servant. For a 

long time after travelers on that road saw a cross, which 

the nobleman had erected on the spot where his servant 

had given up his life, and on the cross were these words : 

" Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay 

down his life for his friends." 

i 

/ 

5. GRACE DARLING 

Once there was a terrible storm at sea, and a steamship 
was dashed upon the rocks and split in two. One-half 
of the ship was washed away, and those of the passengers 
who were still alive, were clinging to the other half upon 
the low rocks, lashed by the angry waves. About a mile 
away in a lighthouse a brave girl, named Grace Darling, 
the daughter of the lighthouse-keeper, heard, above the 
noise of the winds and waves, the screams and cries of 
the drowning men, and when daylight dawned she could 
see the wreck and the men clinging to the masts. " Let 
us go out in the lifeboat and save them?" she cried. 
But her father, who knew the danger in such a storm, 
rephed, " It is of no use. We can never reach them ! " 
" We can never stay here and see them die, father," Grace 
said ; " let us try to save them." So the heavy lighthouse 
boat was launched, and with Grace pulling at one oar, 
and her father at the other, they reached the wreck and 
rescued, one by one, the worn-out men, whom they rowed 
safely to the lighthouse. Then Grace became as tender a 
nurse as she had been brave as a sailor, for she cared 
most kindly for the shipwrecked men until the storm 
ceased and they were strong enough to go to their own 
homes. The heroism of this young woman became known 
everywhere. Thousands sang her praises. Artists visited 



238 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

the lighthouse to take her portrait. Three thousand dol- 
lars were subscribed and presented to her. Distinguished 
people sent her letters of gratitude. But through all such 
praise Grace Darling remained as modest as she was 
brave, saying, ' I did not suppose I had done anything 
worthy of so much notice." When a few years afterward 
she died, over her grave, in a little churchyard by the sea, 
not far from the lighthouse, a monument was raised in 
her honor, where it stands to-day. It is a marble statue 
of a woman lying at rest with a boat's oar held fast in her 
right hand. 

6. THE SURVEYOR AND THE LITTLE BOY 

One spring day, a young surveyor, eighteen years of 
age, was eating his dinner with some companions in a 
forest in Virginia. Suddenly the sylvan stillness was 
startled by the piercing shrieks of a woman. The young 
surveyor sprang to his feet and leaped to the woman's 
side. " My boy ! My boy ! Oh, my darling boy is 
drowning and they will not let me rescue him," screamed 
the frantic mother as she tried to escape from the men 
who held her from springing into the rapids. " No, we 
will not let her go," cried the men, " for she would be 
instantly killed on the sharp rocks and could not rescue 
her boy ! " " Why does not one of you rescue him then ? " 
said the manly fellow of eighteen. " We are not ready 
to die yet," the men replied. " O sir, won't you do some- 
thing?" cried the mother to the young surveyor. For 
an instant he stood measuring the rocks and the whirling 
rapids with his eye, and then, throwing off his coat, he 
plunged into the roaring torrent where he had caught 
sight of the drowning boy. With stout heart and steady 
hand he struggled against the seething waters which each 
moment threatened to engulf him or dash him to pieces 



HEROES OF PEACE 239 

against the sharp-pointed rocks. Just as they thought 
both would go over the falls the young engineer clutched 
the little fellow and swam with him to the shore. Then, 
amid the praises of those who had witnessed his heroism, 
mingled with the gratitude of the overjoyed mother, he 
placed the unconscious but saved little boy in her arms. 
" God will reward you, young man," said the mother ; 
" God will reward you some day for your heroism, and 
many will praise you for what you have done this day ! " 
And so it was ; for this young surveyor who saved the 
little boy was George Washington. 

7. ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND THE PIG 

One day as Abraham Lincoln was riding along a coun- 
try road on horseback, in company with some friends, 
he saw a pig stuck fast in a deep place filled with mud, 
struggling to keep from going in deeper. The poor pig 
was squealing in terror, and the comical sight filled the 
friends with laughter and delight. After Lincoln had 
ridden on a little distance, he turned back his horse, say- 
ing, " Gentlemen, excuse me a few moments," and rode 
back as fast as he could to the place where the poor 
creature was, got down from his horse, and drew the pig 
out of the mud. When he rejoined his companions they 
asked, " Why did you go back? " He told them what he 
had done, adding, " I couldn't sleep well to-night, if I 
hadn't done that thing." 

8. GLADSTONE AND THE STREET-SWEEPER 

The minister of a church in London was called one day 
to see a street-sweeper in his parish who was ill. Asking 
him if any one had been to see him, to the surprise of the 
minister, the sweeper replied, " Yes, Mr. Gladstone came 
to see me." 



240 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

"Which Mr. Gladstone?" asked the minister. 

" Mr. Gladstone, he told me his name was," replied 
the poor sick boy. 

" But how came he to see you ? " said the minister. 

" Well," answered the boy, " he always had a nice word 
for me when he passed my crossing, and when I was not 
there he missed me. He asked my mate, who had taken 
my place, where I was, and when he heard I was ill he 
asked for my address, and he put it down on paper. So 
he called to see me." 

" And what did he do ? " asked the minister. 

" He brought me some nice oranges," answered the 
boy, " and then he read to me some Bible and prayed, 
and it was so good ! " 

To a man like Gladstone, living humbly, simply, and 
sincerely, it is as important and as interesting a deed to 
do a kindness to a poor street-sweeper, and to comfort his 
heart with sympathy and love, as to form a cabinet to 
govern the English Empire. In such service the words 
of George Herbert have their full realization : 

A servant with this clause 

Makes drudgery divine; 

Who sweeps a room as for Thy laws, 

Makes that and th' action fine. 



9. GARIBALDI AND THE LOST LAMB 

One evening, in the year 1 861, as General Joseph Gari-; 
baldi, the Italian patriot, fighting to make his beloved' 
Italy free, vmited, and happy, was going to his head- 
quarters, he met a Sardinian shepherd lamenting the loss 
of a lamb out of his flock. The great-hearted general 
at once returned to camp and announced to his officers 
his intention of scouring the mountains in search of the 
missing sheep. His soldiers, inspired by his tenderness 



HEROES OF PEACE 24I 

on the field of peace as they had been by his valor on 
the field of battle, at once organized a grand expedition. 
Lanterns were brought and old officers of many a cam- 
paign started off full of enthusiasm to hunt for the lost 
lamb. But no lamb was found, and the soldiers returned 
to their beds in the camp. The next morning the servant 
of General Garibaldi found him in bed fast asleep. 
When he was awakened the general rubbed his eyes. 
And so did the servant, when he saw the old warrior 
bring the lost lamb from under the covering where it 
had been kept warm, and request him to carry it back 
in safety to the shepherd. 

The man who had endured hardship and persecution, 
cold and hunger, nakedness and exile to make his native 
land free, had thought it a worthy task to keep up his 
search throughout the long night for the lost sheep until 
he had found it. 



10. HOVENDEN AND THE LITTLE BOY 

Thomas Hovenden, the artist, who painted " Breaking 
the Home Ties," " Jerusalem, the Golden," and " John 
Brown " which were exhibited at the World's Fair in 
Chicago, was one day standing in a railway depot just 
as an engine was dashing into the station. He saw 
just in front of the iron-horse some mother's darling little 
boy, and instantly, without a moment's hesitation, he 
dropped his satchel and sprang in front of the engine. 
He snatched the little boy in his arms, only to be crushed 
and ground beneath the wheels of the conscienceless 
monster. 

Great as are the exhibitions of his artistic genius in 

the paintings he has left us to admire, Thomas Hovenden 

never made a more wonderful picture in his life. Such a 

picture of unselfishness, heroism, and Christlike abandon 

Q 



242 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

to save a child, is a picture to be admired in heaven- 
picture worthy to hang in the palace of God. 



II. THE BOY AND THE TRAIN 

Kenneth Oliver, a boy of eleven years of age, 
who lived in Tampico, 111., returning home from 
school one afternoon, saw a little girl only seven years 
old playing on the railroad track. Suddenly he noticed 
a heavy freight-train coming on, at full speed, drawn by 
two great engines. The little girl did not see or hear the 
train, and was playing on, entirely unconscious of her 
danger. The boy quickly ran to the track, took hold of 
the child, and dragged her to one side of the rails, 
but he missed his footing, and the boy and girl rolled 
down the embankment together just as the train dashed 
past. It was not an instant too soon, for the edge of the 
pilot-beam struck the girl, bruising her, and missed kill- 
ing the boy by an inch. The boy thought nothing of his 
danger. The tumble down the bank into the ditch seemed 
like a joke to the two children, although they felt the 
effects of their somersaults for some time afterward. 
The little girl's mother, full of gratitude, told what this 
boy hero had done; all the country round soon sang his 
praises ; and not long after he received a medal and two 
thousand dollars from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commis- 
sion. It had always been his wish to go to college. This 
enabled him to get his wish, for the money was enough to 
pay for his education. 

12. THE BOY AND THE MAD DOG 

One day in the town of Weser, in Germany, a boy was 
playing with his little sister, four years old. Suddenly 
the boy saw rushing down the hill a mad dog followed 



HEROES OF PEACE 243 

by men, trying to stop it. In a moment the boy saw that 
the dog was running directly toward his little sister. 
Not thinking for a moment of his own danger, or escape, 
this brave boy in a flash threw off his coat, wrapped it 
around his arm, and boldly faced the fierce dog. Holding 
out his arm, shielded by the coat, the boy turned the 
dog's attention to himself, so that the wild beast jumped 
at him and worried him until the men came up and 
killed the dog. The men said, " Why did you not run 
away from the dog? You could easily have done it." 
" Yes," answered the boy, " but if I had he would have 
attacked my sister. I thought I would let the dog tear 
my coat instead of her ! " 

13. THE GIRL AND HER RED PETTICOAT 

Jennie Clark, a little girl only eleven years old, who 
lived in Ohio, was walking along a railroad track one hot 
summer afternoon when she noticed that a wooden bridge 
over a deep ravine was on fire, evidently caught from a 
spark from an engine. She knew that in a few mo- 
ments an excursion train to the World's Fair was due 
to pass over the bridge. As quick as a flash the little 
heroine snatched off her red petticoat, and ran swiftly 
up the track toward the approaching train, waving her 
red petticoat as a danger-signal. The engineer saw the 
warning and stopped the train in time to save the lives of 
the passengers. Among the hundreds of passengers who 
were saved were a number of Frenchmen who, on their 
return to France, told this story of the brave little Ameri- 
can girl who had saved the train. The story reached 
the ears of President Carnot, who, after communicating 
with President McKinley, bestowed upon her the Cross 
of the Legion of Honor. This young girl of Ohio, who 
so courageously gave herself in such heroic service, was 



244 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

the youngest person in the world to wear the Cross of 
the Legion of Honor, France's highest award for heroic 
service in time of war and peace ! 



14. THE NEWSBOY OF GARY 

Billy Rough was a crippled newsboy who owned a 
news-stand on a busy street corner in Gary, Ind. But, 
though a cripple, Billy was such a cheerful soul that he 
did far more than sell newspapers. He gave away sun- 
shine. He knew his customers and was interested in all 
their affairs. As he handed them their papers he asked, 
with neighborly cheerfulness, about their welfare. If 
the crippled boy had troubles himself, no one ever knew 
of them. He was far more anxious to help others bear 
their burdens than to add to them by any tales of his 
own woes. One day he read in the newspaper of a young 
girl who had been terribly burned as the result of a motor- 
cycle accident. The doctors said her life could only be 
saved by grafting some one else's skin upon the burned 
flesh. Billy Rough said to himself : " I'm only a poor 
cripple. My life is not of much account. I will oflfer 
my skin." He was told that amputation would be neces- 
sary and very dangerous. He said : " If it will save the 
girl, take it off. I'll save money. I'll only have to buy 
one shoe. The leg is of no use to me. Maybe it'll help 
her. I'd like to be of some use to some one." He saved 
her life, but lost his own, for soon after the grafting, he 
died, saying : " I'm glad I done it. Yes, I'm going, but 
I was some good in the world after all." The Mayor of 
Gary, impressed with this heroic self-sacrifice, issued a 
proclamation announcing that contributions for a memo- 
rial would be received. Nine hundred dollars, which 
had been sent in for his use before he died, were turned 
over to the memorial committee. A statue in Jefferson 



HEROES OF PEACE 245 

Park, a bronze tablet in the building where his news- 
stand stood, and an endowed room in the Gary Hospital 
where he lay before his death, all testify that the name 
of Billy Rough, the crippled newsboy and hero of Gary, 
will have an enduring place in the annals of American 
heroes. 



XI 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME 
USEFUL 

(Adapted for Young People, Nine to Eighteen Years.) 

I. LONGFELLOW, POET 

THE poet, Longfellow, once wrote in his diary, " We 
have but one life to live on earth ; we must make that 
beautiful." The story of this beautiful life began at his 
birth in Portland, Me., February 27, 1807. He was 
the second of eight children. His father was an honored 
lawyer and his mother was a woman of refinement, a 
descendant of John Alden of the Mayflower. Henry 
was a noble, tender-hearted boy. One day when he 
went shooting, he killed a robin. The piteous look of 
the little fearless thing so pained him that he never went 
shooting again. The first book he loved was Irving's 
" Sketch-Book." Its strange stories of " Sleepy Hol- 
low " and " Rip Van Winkle," pleased his fancy. During 
each summer he used to visit his Grandfather Wads- 
worth's estate of seven thousand acres, just outside Port- 
land, where they told him tales of 'y6. The story of 
the fight with the Indians impressed him so deeply that 
at the age of thirteen he wrote his first poem, " The 
Battle of Lovell's Pond," which he slipped into an en- 
velope and mailed to a newspaper, telling no one but his 
sister. He walked up and down in front of the printing- 
office, shivering in the cold, and wondering if his poem 
was being put in print. Next morning there was the 
246 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL 247 

poem, signed " Henry." He read it again and again, 
and thought it a fine poem. In the evening he and his 
father were visiting at a neighbor's house, when the 
neighbor said to Mr. Longfellow, " Did you see the little 
poem in to-day's paper?" "No," said Mr. Longfellow, 
"is it good for anything?" "No," said the neighbor, 
" it's stiff, and it's all borrowed, every word ; why, your 
boy there could write much better than that ! " Poor 
Henry's heart sank. He hurried home and sobbed him- 
self to sleep that night. Yet criticism did not discourage 
this brave boy. He kept trying, saying, " I will succeed," 
and he became the best-loved poet of the world. At 
fourteen he graduated from Portland Academy, and at 
eighteen from Bowdoin College. After three years' travel 
in Europe, he became professor of modern languages in 
his alma mater for five years, and then for eighteen years 
professor of literature in Harvard, being succeeded by 
James Russell Lowell. The school children of Cam- 
bridge celebrated his seventy-second birthday by pre- 
senting him with a chair carved from the wood of the 
chestnut tree under which stood the village smithy that 
he made famous in his poem, " The Village Blacksmith." 
The poet greatly appreciated this gift, and wrote one of 
his best poems about it. Each boy and girl who came 
was allowed to sit in the chair and each received a copy 
of a poem that Longfellow wrote. The same year fifteen 
hundred children of Cincinnati celebrated his birthday 
with recitations from his poems and singing his songs. 
His marble statue stands in the " Poet's Comer," in 
Westminster Abbey in London, England. His grave is in 
Mount Auburn Cemetery, in Cambridge. On his tomb- 
stone is the simple inscription : " Longfellow." That is 
enough. There are few schoolboys in America or Eng- 
land who do not know the story of his beautiful life, or 
who have not recited his words in " A Psalm of Life " : 



248 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

Lives of great men all remind us 
We can make our lives sublime, 

And, departing, leave behind us 
Footprints on the sands of time — 

Footprints, that perhaps another, 
Sailing o'er life's solemn main, 

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, 
Seeing, may take heart again. 

Let us then be up and doing. 
With a heart for any fate; 

Still achieving, still pursuing, 
Learn to labor and to wait. 



2. MOZART, MUSICIAN 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the greatest musi- 
cians and composers that ever lived, w^as Horn in Salz- 
burg, Germany, January 2y, 1756. His father was a 
famous violinist. At the age of three little Wolfgang 
loved to hear the playing of his sister Maria, who was 
just five years older. At four he was able to play minuets 
and compose little pieces. At five he played in public, and 
at six composed a difficult concerto for a full orchestra. 
One day before he was seven, his father was walking in 
the country with him when they came to a great church 
which contained the largest organ Wolfgang had ever 
seen. " Father, let me play it," he said. Well pleased, 
his father began to blow the bellows. Wolfgang pushed 
aside the high stool, stood upon the pedals, and began 
playing. Softly at first the deep tones rose, awakening 
the stillness of the old church, and then the strains 
swelled louder and louder until all who heard marveled 
that a young child could play such wonderful music. No 
wonder the father was proud of his two children. No 
wonder the palaces of Europe were opened to them and 
that they were petted, admired, and loaded with caresses 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL 249 

and presents. The little boy's charming appearance and 
cheerful disposition endeared him to all. So innocent 
and natural was his manner that at Vienna he sprang up 
into the Empress's lap and kissed her heartily. In another 
place when he slipped upon the polished floor, Marie 
Antoinette lifted him up, and he said, " You are very 
kind. When I grow up I will marry you." He always 
loved his father, and was always gentle and obedient, 
saying, " Next after God is my father." Though so 
modest, he played without fear before kings. 

Many musicians were jealous of his genius and said, 
" A trick is being played on the people." So one day he 
was invited to the house of a famous musician to play 
before a number of great performers. The old musician 
gave him the most difficult piece he had ever written, 
knowing Mozart had never seen it, and to the wonder of 
all, he played it so splendidly they were convinced of his 
great genius. But as the envy of his enemies did not de- 
crease, he was obliged to seek Italy to earn his living. 
At Rome he went to the Sistine Chapel to hear the cele- 
brated " Miserere," which, on returning home, he wrote 
down note by note — a feat which created a great sensa- 
tion, for the singers were forbidden to transcribe the 
music on penalty of dismissal. So delighted was the pope 
with him that he presented Mozart with the Order of the 
Golden Spur. He played the harp, the organ, the violin, 
and every instrument in the orchestra. He composed 
many operas as well as church music and concert music. 
Perhaps the happiest part of his life was when he 
traveled with his sister and his beloved father, revealing 
the wonders of his musical genius to the great of the 
earth, not for money or fame, but for the great pleasure 
he gave and received from his art. 

One day a stranger called on him, requesting him to 
compose a requiem, and offering to pay him for this in 



250 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

advance. Mozart worked hard at it, but when the stranger 
returned it was not ready, and he paid the musician some 
more money in advance for it. When the stranger called 
the third time, Mozart was dead, and the requiem still 
unfinished. When he died he was very poor, and the few 
friends he had, because it rained on the day of his funeral, 
left him unattended, to be carried to his grave in a 
potter's field. Thus he, who had in his lifetime pro- 
duced so much wonderful music, was buried unhonored 
and unsung, without funeral ceremony or acclaim. But 
to-day, not only in Germany but over all the earth, the 
music of his immortal name is heard, and his praise is 
sung. 

3. OLE BULL, VIOLINIST 

In the quaint little town of Bergen, in Norway, Feb- 
ruary 5, 1810, was born a boy, the eldest of ten children. 
His father was a chemist, and his mother a noble, in- 
telligent woman, and they both loved music. Little Ole 
Bull would often crawl under the settee or sofa to listen 
to the music when his relatives came to his home to sing 
and practise, and he was often whipped, when discovered, 
for being so naughty. He loved music, and when he was 
in the field, where he often played alone, he thought he 
heard the music of the little bluebells swinging in the 
wind, as he lay among the flowers. When he was four 
years old his uncle gave him a yellow violin. He kissed 
it in his delight, and began to learn the notes at the 
same time that he did his letters, and although forbidden 
to play until after study hours, he often forgot and was 
punished both at home and in school. When he was 
eight years old a music-teacher was provided, and his 
father bought him a new, red violin. That night Ole 
could not sleep. In his night-dress he stole to the room 
where the violin lay, and because it was so red and so 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL 25I 

pretty, and the pearl screws smiled at him, he just 
pinched the strings, and when it smiled more and more, 
he had to try the bow, and then he forgot that it was 
night and everybody asleep, so he played, very softly at 
first, and then he kept on forgetting until suddenly — 
crack went his father's whip across Ole's back, and the 
little red violin fell to the floor and was broken. He 
said, " I wept much for it, but it did no good, for the 
doctor never could make it well." But he kept on with 
his study, and in two years he began to compose his own 
music, making his violin sing with the birds and brook, 
the roar of the waterfall, the dripping of the rain, and 
the whispering of the wind. When Ole was eighteen he 
went to the University at Christiania, where he attracted 
the attention of one of the professors, who encouraged 
him to give concerts and later aided him with money to 
go to Paris. In that great city no one cared for this 
unknown violinist, and he could not get a chance to play. 
One day when he had but little money left, an old man 
who lived in the same house with him advised the vio- 
linist to draw all his money out of the bank, pretending 
that it was not safe there. Ole drew his money out, and 
that night the old man stole all Ole's money and clothes, 
leaving him penniless in the strange city. In his distress 
he sought a new home in a house with a card in the win- 
dow, " Furnished Rooms to Let." He went up the steps 
and when the woman saw how ill and poor he looked, 
she said there was no room. But her little granddaughter 
said, " Look at him, grandmamma." The old lady put on 
her glasses and saw he looked like her son who had died, 
and so she took Ole in and nursed him tenderly through 
brain fever. Later little Felice, the granddaughter, be- 
came Ole's wife. A nobleman asked him to play at a grand 
concert, where he earned three hundred dollars. Then 
he took lessons of some great teachers and made a tour 



252 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

of the world on which he received great sums for his 
playing. In America his audiences went wild with de- 
light. He used to visit the asylums and hospitals and 
play for the inmates. All through his life he tried to help 
others, not only with his music, but with his money. His 
sweet wife and his beautiful children died, and he was 
left alone, but he was never too sorrowful or too busy 
to help the most humble who came to him. He died at 
his beautiful home near Bergen, Norway. At his funeral 
the rich and great gathered to honor him, and after his 
body was lowered into its flower-hung grave, the poor 
peasants came by hundreds with their green boughs or 
sprigs of fern or wildflowers and filled his grave with 
them — because they loved him ! 

4. LOUISA MAY ALCOTT, AUTHOR 

Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pa., 
November 29, 1832. Her father was a cultured school- 
teacher and her mother of an old aristocratic family. 
Louisa was the eldest of four daughters, whose happy 
life she pictures in " Little Women," herself being " Jo." 
She was a wild, happy-hearted, enthusiastic girl, prefer- 
ring whistling and romping and boys' games rather than 
girls'. Their home was frequently visited by such liter- 
ary people as Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorne, who 
were her father's friends. At eight years of age she 
wrote this poem of eight lines : 

Welcome, welcome, little stranger. 
Fear no harm and fear no danger; 
We are glad to see you here, 
For you sing, " Sweet spring is near." 
Now the white snow melts away; 
Now the flowers blossom gay. 
Come, dear bird, and build your nest 
For we love our robin best. 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL 253 

Her mother preserved this poem, and told her if she 
kept on she might one day be a second Shakespeare. 
She was fond of teUing fairy stories to amuse her sisters 
and friends, and often turned the old tales into little 
plays which the children acted in a barn. One of these 
plays was " Jack and the Bean Stalk." A squash vine, 
placed in the barn, was the bean-stalk, and when it was 
cut down the boy who played Giant, would come tum- 
bling down from the hay-loft. At thirteen she wrote the 
beautiful poem, " My Kingdom." After she became a 
school-teacher she was always helping somebody, taking 
care of an invalid or the poor, or sewing to help her 
mother. She continued to write stories. Some of the 
stories were rejected and the publisher advised her to 
stick to her school-teaching. Returning from the Civil 
War, where she had been a valued nurse to the wounded 
soldiers, she presented, through her father, several short 
stories to a publisher, who rejected them, with the advice 
that she write a story for girls. She thought she could 
not do that, and wrote " Little Women " to prove that 
she could not, but it is perhaps the best-loved girls' story 
ever written. Then she wrote " Little Men," of which 
fifty thousand copies were ordered before it was printed. 
She received one hundred thousand dollars for her books. 
Her life-desire was now realized in having money enough 
to make her family comfortable. Her father died in 1888, 
and she followed him only three days after. Miss Louisa 
May Alcott, besides being a writer, was also an earnest 
advocate of woman suffrage and temperance. 

5. ROSA BONHEUR, PAINTER 

Rosa was born in poverty. Her father, an artist too, 
was compelled to give drawing lessons, and her mother 
had to go from house to house teaching music to assist in 



254 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

supporting their four children. Her mother dying when 
Rosa was twelve years old, and her father marrying 
again, the gifted girl was sent away to school where she 
spent most of her time in drawing funny pictures of her 
teachers. Later her father taught her to copy the old 
masters in the Louvre. When she was seventeen she de- 
termined her life-work — animal painting; but being too 
poor to buy models, she would take long walks into the 
country to study and draw living animals, and later on 
kept a sheep on her roof-garden for a model. At nineteen 
she sent two pictures to the Fine Arts Exposition, " Goat 
and Sheep " and " Two Rabbits," and others soon fol- 
lowed. When her father died she took his place as 
Director of the School of Design for Girls, and her sister, 
Juliette, became a teacher in the same school. She 
studied eighteen months before painting " The Horse 
Fair," which famous picture was purchased in England 
for eight thousand dollars, and later by A. T. Stewart, 
of New York, and is now in his collection in the Metro- 
politan Museum of Art. Landseer, the great English 
artist, said of her " Horse Fair," " It surpasses me, al- 
though it's a little hard to be beaten by a woman." 
When at her work Rosa Bonheur often dressed in male 
attire with a large, white collar. She was always busy, 
cheerful, and generous. Her pictures brought her large 
sums, which she spent not only in providing for her 
family and old servants, but in generously assisting poor 
students. She had one of the most beautiful studios in 
Paris. When Prussia conquered France the Prussian 
soldiers were ordered not to disturb Rosa Bonheur or 
her servants. The poor idolized this wonderful woman, 
for she always loved them. She died at her home May 
25, 1899. But through her wonderful works she still 
helps us to see the beauty of common things and to feel 
the poetry in what might seem the drudgery of life. 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL 255 
6. JENNY LIND, SINGER 

Jenny Lind, the " Swedish nightingale," fills a place all 
her own among the world's great artists of song. Gifted 
in voice, beautiful in face, lovely in character, a princess 
among givers, the guardian angel of the poor and vm- 
fortunate, she was for many years the idol of all classes 
of people, adored not simply for her talent, but also as 
one of the most perfect of women. She was born in 
Stockholm, Sweden, October 6, 1820. Her father was a 
good-natured man, who enjoyed song, but he was un- 
able to provide for his family. Her mother was a woman 
of determination, who helped care for the family by teach- 
ing school. When very small Jenny showed a love for 
the singing of birds, and often when she sang to her 
pet cat, as it sat with a blue ribbon around its neck in the 
window, people in the street used to listen and wonder. 
One day a lady heard the child's voice, and said, " She 
is a genius ; she must be trained." At nine she sang be- 
fore the music-master of the Royal Theater, and he was 
moved to tears and at once accepted her, and for ten 
years she was educated in singing and elocution at the 
expense of the government of Sweden. Jenny began to 
act and sing in the Royal Theater at ten, and sang and 
played continuously until she was twenty. From twelve 
to fifteen she sang in concerts, and the Swedish people 
became very proud of her. At twenty she was made a 
member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, and 
was appointed court singer. The progress in her art 
led her to devote four hours or more daily for almost 
a year in practising the scales and exercises under a great 
teacher in Paris. Then she began to travel through 
Europe, singing before kings, nobles, and distinguished 
people, and to crowded audiences who hailed her as " the 
first singer of the world," and paid enormous prices to 



256 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

hear her. At last she consented to sing in the United 
States. When she arrived at New York thousands were 
on the dock eager to catch a gUmpse of her. Triumphal 
arches surmounted by eagles bore the inscription, " Wel- 
come, Jenny Lind. Welcome to America ! " At the first 
concert, where thousands listened enchanted to her in 
Castle Garden in New York, some persons paid as high 
as six hundred and fifty dollars for a single ticket. 
Jenny Lind's share for this one concert was nearly ten 
thousand dollars. She immediately sent for the mayor of 
the city and distributed the whole amount among chari- 
table institutions. Throughout her life she felt that the 
money she earned was only hers in trust, as well as her 
voice. She said : " It is a great joy and a gift from God 
to be allowed to earn so much money and afterward to 
help one's fellow men with it. This is the highest joy I 
wish for in life." Everywhere she gave benefit concerts 
for charitable institutions or for individuals in need. In 
New York alone she gave away forty thousand dollars in 
charities. When warned against so much liberality, as 
some unworthy persons would seek aid, she always re- 
plied, " Never mind, if I assist ten and one is worthy, 
I am satisfied." At thirty-one she married Mr. Otto 
Goldschmidt, of Hamburg, an accomplished musician, 
and they secured a beautiful residence in England, where 
they lived most happily for many years, until her death, 
November 2, 1887, at the age of sixty-seven. Queen 
Victoria, who had often heard her sing and who greatly 
honored her, sent a wreath of beautiful white flowers. 

Mendelssohn said of her, " I never met so noble, so 
true, and real an art nature as Jenny Lind." N. P. Willis 
said : " To give away more money in charity than any 
other mortal; to be humble, simple, genial, unassuming, 
and still be the first of prima donnas ; to have begun as 
a beggar girl and risen to receive more honor than a 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL 257 

queen, this is the combination that makes the wonder 
of a dozen heroines in one single girl." 



7. LINCOLN, EMANCIPATION PRESIDENT 

When the Hall of Fame was opened in New York 
City, George Washington was found to have the votes of 
one hundred per cent of the electors, and Abraham 
Lincoln came next with ninety-nine per cent. Lincoln, 
the great emancipator of four million slaves, and the 
preserver of the nation's unity, came next to Washing- 
ton, the Father and first President of his country. In Har- 
den, now Larue County, Ky., February 12, 1809, he 
was born and grew up in such poverty as few boys have 
ever known. His mother died when the little fellow was 
very young, so that not until little Abe was seven years 
old, and his stepmother, a woman of energy and intel- 
ligence, took charge of the desolate household, did the 
shaggy-headed, ragged, barefoot, forlorn lad begin " to 
feel like a human being." From the time he could hold 
an axe in his little hand he was expected to work. His 
father was a lazy, shiftless, " poor Southern white," 
which is the last word in unthrift. He hired out Abe to 
the neighbors to plow, dig ditches, chop wood, drive 
oxen, and " tend the baby " when a farmer's wife was 
busy, keeping all the scanty wages Abe earned and growl- 
ing because the lad loved to read when he had finished his 
work. Often he came home at night all aching with cold 
and wet, not to lounge at leisure as other boys, but while 
his parents slept, he rolled another log on the fire to give 
him light, or by the aid of a pine-knot stuck in the wall 
to light the dingy cabin, he read such books as he could 
borrow. When sixteen years old, besides being a rail- 
splitter and teamster, he was earning six dollars a month 
by managing a ferryboat across the Ohio River. Per- 
R 



258 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

haps the turning-point in his life came when he found 
two old law-books that had been thrown away with 
some rubbish he was hauling. He read these books and 
stored up the information they gave. His wide reading 
enabled him later to speak eloquently, especially against 
the slave-trade which he hated. One day, passing 
through the great slave-market of New Orleans, and 
seeing a girl being auctioned from the slave-block, his 
soul was so kindled that he decided then and there, " I'll 
knock that thing hard, if I ever get a chance." And he 
did. He was tender-hearted, and nothing aroused him 
more than to see a helpless animal or person mistreated. 

He was six feet four inches tall, awkward and homely 
in countenance, very powerful, a famous wrestler, but he 
was never known to use his strength for his own benefit, 
and while he whipped the bullies that made him fight, he 
never picked a quarrel in his life. He served as captain 
in the Black Hawk war, and at the age of twenty-two 
ran for the legislature and was defeated. He ran a coun- 
try store in Springfield, 111., and failed, but he paid up 
the last dollar, although this took him fourteen years to 
do. He studied law and became a leading lawyer, ad- 
mired for his honesty as well as industry. He stood 
always for peace if possible, and often persuaded his 
clients to make up their quarrel in his office instead of 
going to law. While he was an attorney, feeling that his 
lack of education put him at a disadvantage with Eastern 
men who, educated and trained in great colleges, were 
coming West, he determined " to be ready for them," 
and so undertook a home course of study in mathematics, 
logic, and literature. It was hard work, but he won. He 
was elected to the Legislature of Illinois, sent to Con- 
gress at Washington, became the leader of the Republi- 
can party, and in i860 was elected President of the nation. 
During the terrible years of the Civil War his hand 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL 259 

guided the torn and distracted country out of the cyclone 
of hatred and bloodshed into peace and prosperity. Few 
souls in history have had fiercer trials than those through 
which he passed. His friends grew impatient and found 
fault, his enemies jeered, his closest followers doubted, 
but he could neither be hurried, delayed, nor swerved 
from the cause of right he had laid out for himself. His 
patience, self-possession, resources, tact, large-hearted- 
ness, and faith in God never failed him. 

On January i, 1863, President Lincoln signed the 
Proclamation of Emancipation, and by his stroke of the 
pen set four million human beings free. No wonder that 
in many churches in the United States, as well as in Eng- 
land, Christian people sang " The year of jubilee is 
come ! " 

In spite of his lack of early education, his speeches and 
documents are among the finest in our history. His 
Gettysburg address every boy should know. In his sec- 
ond inaugural address this sentence occurs : " With malice 
toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the 
right as God gives us to see the right, let us finish the 
work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care 
for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his 
widow and his orphans, to do all which may achieve and 
cherish a just and a lasting peace among ourselves and 
with all nations." 

Just as he was about to enjoy the hard-won victory 
of peace, an insane assassin laid low the great emancipa- 
tor, " a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom." He died 
April 15, 1865, sincerely mourned by " the boys in blue " 
and " the boys in gray " and the States of the nation 
that he had saved in union. 

Abraham Lincoln will always rank as one of the great- 
est presidents, and, as the years roll on, his place in the 
aflfection and reverence of his countrymen becomes more 



26o WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

secure. James Russell Lowell wrote this fitting tribute 
to him : 

Our children shall behold his fame, 
The kindly, earnest, brave, far-seeing man, 

Sagacious, patient, dreading praise, not blame. 
New birth of our new soil, the first American. 

8. HORACE GREELEY, EDITOR 

Horace Greeley was born February ii, 1811, on a 
small stony farm in New Hampshire, in a lonely, un- 
painted house. His parents were very poor, being unable 
to feed and clothe and educate their family of seven chil- 
dren, of whom Horace was the third. His mother, a 
bright, cheerful, laughing woman, loved to tell her chil- 
dren stories. When Horace was two years old he would 
lie on the floor and look at the words in the Bible and 
ask about the letters. At three he went to school, and very 
soon learned to read and to spell wonderfully. Before 
he was six he had read the Bible, " Pilgrim's Progress," 
and every book he could borrow. He would lie before 
the fireplace after a hard day's work on the farm and 
read by the light of a pine-knot. When he went to bed, 
he would tell his brother what he had been reading or 
studying, but his brother would fall asleep while Horace 
was talking. 

When he was thirteen the school-teacher said to 
Horace's father, " Mr. Greeley, your boy knows more 
than I do. It is no use to send him to school any more." 
He had always wanted to be a printer. One day he 
walked twelve miles and was given a trial in a printer's 
office. He learned more in a day than most boys do in a 
month. The other boys joked him. They threw ink and 
type at him. Because Horace's hair was light, they got 
the ink-ball and stained it black. Everybody looked for 
a fight, but he good-naturedly washed the ink from his 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL 261 

hair, and became the favorite of all. During the four years 
he spent learning his trade he visited his home twice, 
walking most of the six hundred miles each way. Later he 
trudged all the way on foot to New York, walking along 
the canal-path, and arrived there with all his clothes 
in a bundle carried over his back with a stick, and with 
but ten dollars in his pocket. Soon he started the print- 
ing of several cheap newspapers, but he lost money on 
each of these until, on borrowed money, he started the 
New York Tribune, which has been increasingly success- 
ful to the present time. His income from the Tribune 
was long above fifteen thousand dollars a year, frequently 
as much as thirty-five thousand dollars or more. Sub- 
scriptions for his paper were found in all the North 
from Maine to Oregon, large packages going to remote 
rural districts, and everywhere a personal affection for 
the editor was felt. In his editorials he advocated from 
time to time such doctrines as protective tariff, national 
cooperation for the elevation of labor, total abstinence 
from intoxicating liquors, and above all, antislavery. He 
was elected to Congress, and while there introduced the 
first bill for giving small tracts of government land free 
to actual settlers. He wrote books, visited Europe, and 
traveled through America to California. On his return 
he wrote, " Go West, young man ! " He helped to nom- 
inate Lincoln for president, and later was himself nom- 
inated for president, being defeated by Grant by more 
than one-half million majority. One month after this 
great defeat his wife died, and soon after he was attacked 
with brain fever and died November 29, 1872, aged sixty- 
one years. Through life his personal peculiarities, care- 
less dress, and independent manners, had brought upon 
him endless ridicule, but his death revealed his high 
position as a leader of opinion and, as Whittier called 
him, " our later Franklin." 



262 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

9. AUDUBON, NATURALIST 

Every boy who loves out-of-door life should know the 
story of John James Audubon. He was born on a farm 
in Louisiana, May 4, 1780. His parents were French 
and when very young he was taken to France where he 
attended school. His favorite study was of animals and 
birds. He often roamed the woods, bringing home birds' 
nests and eggs, curious rocks, and bits of moss. His 
father bought him a picture-book of birds. The delighted 
boy painted these copies, but saw they were not like real 
birds. Later he took lessons of the great French painter, 
David, who taught him to draw and paint things as they 
are. Returning to America, his father gave him a large 
farm in Pennsylvania where his studies of birds led him 
to decide to write a book on bird life, and illustrate it by 
his own drawings. This was a great task, but when this 
young man decided to do anything he never allowed 
difficulties to stand in his way. So he began his work and 
studied and painted year after year. He had to live 
much of the time in the woods, studying how the birds 
lived and built their nests. Sometimes he went by boat 
down the river ; sometimes he went on horseback. Often 
he tramped alone through the trackless woods. Many 
nights he slept out-of-doors. He lost all his money and 
was obliged to stop his work and paint portraits and sell 
his choice drawings for a living. His heroic wife took 
up school-teaching to help him out with his work. One 
day while traveling he left his paintings of nearly a 
thousand birds in a wooden box in the home of a friend. 
Two months later, when he returned and opened the box, 
he found two large rats had got into the box and cut 
up all the paintings with their sharp teeth, making a nest 
for their young among the gnawed pieces. He said, 
" I will make better paintings ! " It took him four long 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL 263 

years to complete his pictures, but at last the great book 
was completed and published and praised throughout 
France, England, and the United States. 

The Society for the Protection of Our Feathered 
Friends was organized by this great naturalist, who spent 
the rest of his life for this great object. At present there 
are few places where boys and girls have not heard of 
Audubon. He died at his beautiful home on the Hudson 
River, greatly honored and beloved in France, England, 
and the United States. 



10. EDISON, WIZARD OF ELECTRICITY 

Thomas Alva Edison, the " Wizard of Electricity," 
was born in Milan, Ohio, February 11, 1847. His birth- 
place was located on the canal. As there were no rail- 
ways, it was a very busy little place. Edison used to 
spend all his playtime at the shops where the canal-boats 
were built, learning all about the tools being used. Thus 
before he was seven he began to show his love of ma- 
chinery. When he was seven years old his parents re- 
moved to Michigan. Edison was already well advanced 
in education for a boy of his age, for his mother had 
been his careful teacher and companion. They had read 
and discussed many books together, especially history, 
of which he was very fond. Two or three books on elec- 
tricity had come into his hands and these he read with 
great interest. As his father was poor, it became neces- 
sary, when Thomas was eleven years of age, for him to 
earn his own living. He applied for a position as news- 
boy on the Grand Trunk Railroad, and he was soon ma- 
king from four to five dollars a day. When the Civil 
War broke out his earnings so greatly increased that he 
hired another boy, and had a place fixed up in an express 
car, in which he placed a small printing-press and began 



264 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

to publish a paper of his own. He gathered his news 
on the train and from agents on the route, often securing 
the latest news being telegraphed to the great papers. 
His papers had a good sale. Stevenson, the great Eng- 
lish engineer, was so pleased with a copy he bought on 
the train, and with its editor, that he took one thousand 
copies, and thus the Weekly and its editor became known 
and quoted in England. He was reading, studying, and 
experimenting every moment he could get from his work. 
But he experimented once too often when a bottle of 
phosphorus was jerked out of his hand by the jolting of 
the train and instantly the car was in flames. The con- 
ductor helped put out the fire and then deposited the 
youthful inventor, with his printing-press, on the plat- 
form of the next station. This ended his laboratory on 
the train, but he still continued his work, and coaxed his 
father to let him fit up a workshop at home, where he 
experimented with telegraph instruments, stringing wires 
on trees, insulating them with old bottles, and teaching 
his boy friends the mystery of their use. He was anxious 
to learn telegraphy, which he succeeded in doing, being 
taught by a telegraph-operator whose little child Thomas 
had saved from being killed by a freight-train at 
the risk of his own life. He soon secured a night 
operator's position, but instead of sleeping in the day- 
time, young Edison spent his days experimenting, and 
so was too sleepy at night to do his work well. He lost 
several night positions, but soon got day-work and con- 
tinued his experiments. He went from city to city, but 
he cared more for the wonders of electricity than the 
routine of office work, though his work was always ac- 
curate. In Boston he chanced to buy Faraday's book on 
electricity, and at once decided that life was short, and 
he had so much to do that he must hustle — and he has 
been hustling ever since. 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL 265 

His first invention was an automatic repeater by which 
messages could be transmitted without the presence of 
the operator. Since then his inventions have been many 
and important, among them the quadruplex telegraph, 
the printing telegraph, the megaphone, the aerophone, 
the phonograph, the moving-picture machine, the storage 
battery, the incandescent lamp and light system, and the 
kinetoscope. He has received patents for more than 
seven hundred inventions by which daily life has been 
made more attractive. Thomas Alva Edison is the fore- 
most genius of his day, and the modern magician who 
has made " the fairy tales of science " as fascinating as 
" Aladdin's Wonderful Lamp," or " Boots and His 
Brothers." 



II. BURBANK, FAIRY GODFATHER OF THE ORCHARDS 

This is the story of a boy with a magic wand who 
has made everything he touched more beautiful and more 
useful. Even when a little baby, he would hold flowers 
in his hands for hours, never harming them. He loved 
flowers best of all — better than pets or animals or play- 
things ; better than anything else in the world except his 
dear mother with her loving, smiling eyes. He and his 
mother were chums. His father loved books, but his 
mother loved flowers. While Luther Burbank loved 
beautiful thoughts from books, like his father, the flow- 
ers, trees, and plants that his mother loved, attracted 
him to the fields and orchards. All the time he 
longed to help nature. He wondered if he could make 
weeds useful and make more and better potatoes grow 
in each hill. He planted the potato-seed ball, watched it, 
picked it up when the dog knocked it down and, after a 
great deal of work he had the delicious Burbank potato. 

Then, taking the little field-daisy that he found grow- 



266 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

ing by the roadside, he sent to Japan for daisies from 
that land, and planted the two together. The bees carried 
the pollen from one flower to another, and after a long 
time there was the beautiful Shasta Daisy, which is 
named for Mount Shasta that is within sight of Mr. 
Burbank's home. 

He is the fairy godfather of the orchards, for he 
waves his magic wand, and year after year his trees bear 
finer fruit — sweeter oranges, better plums, larger apri- 
cots ; and the world is richer for his work. 

He teaches the men who help him his magic. They 
grow tender-eyed, and their fingers are quick and gentle 
as they plant the tiny seeds, set the tender grafts, and 
nurse the little frail flower-stalks. He is now a rich man, 
but he was not always so. When he first left his home in 
Massachusetts to go to California, he could get no work, 
and he was often hungry. At last he got a place in a 
hothouse doing the work he loved — tending flowers and 
plants. But the poor boy had no money for a room, and 
had to sleep in the plant-house. But this place was so 
damp he grew ill, and a poor woman, seeing that he was 
ill because he did not have the right kind of food, made 
him drink a pint of milk from her one cow every day. 
Luther was afraid he might never be able to pay her back, 
but when he got better and was able to work he paid the 
good woman for the milk. 

When people saw what a wonderful boy Luther Bur- 
bank really was, he had more than he could do. He 
saved his money, bought a little farm, and began to in- 
vent wonderful ways of doing things. Later he bought a 
great nursery, where he loved to experiment with plants 
and berries and vegetables. He took the prickly, ugly 
cactus growing in the desert, scratching the hands and 
tearing the clothes, and caused it to shed its thorns and 
to put forth flowers and fruit that is good for man and 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL 26/ 

beast. No wonder he is called the " Fairy Godfather of 
the Orchards," this man with the smiling blue eyes, loving 
boys and girls next after the flowers, and loving his 
mother best of all. What is the magic wand of the 
" Flower Magician " ? It is " Patient Toil " ! 



12. MARY LYON, EDUCATOR 

Girls who appreciate the possibility of the higher edu- 
cation of women in America will hold the name of Mary 
Lyon in high esteem. She was born on a stony Massa- 
chusetts farm, February 28, 1797. She was not pretty, 
but her face was bright and intelligent, and her spirit 
was proud, energetic, and helpful. She loved to devise 
ways by which she could do the largest amount of work 
in the shortest time. One day she said, " Mother, I have 
found a way to make time." At school she showed a 
wonderfully retentive memory. When Mary was still 
young, her father died, leaving the family quite poor. 
But Mary's mother with energy, prudence, and cheerful- 
ness, managed the little farm so as to keep her children 
together. Her flowers were the sweetest anywhere. She 
always found time to do many kind deeds for her neigh- 
bors. Struggling against poverty, Mary taught school 
for almost nothing; spun and wove her own clothes; 
and studied hard. Her friends thought her foolish to 
try and learn so much, saying she could never use it. 
But deep down in her heart she felt she was to lift the 
world toward the higher education of woman. So she 
toiled on for years amid hardship, disappointment, and 
opposition, for neither the men nor the women of that 
day approved of women being educated or speaking in 
public. When she solicited funds for her college her 
friends thought she was unwomanly and a disgrace to her 
sex. But her earnest, unselfish, persistent spirit won 



268 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

friends for her cause, and on October 3, 1836, Mount 
Holyoke Seminary, the first school in America for the 
higher education of women, was founded. She was at 
the head of it until her death. Her influence over the 
young ladies was wonderful. She was firm but kind, 
always expecting them to do right without rules. She 
was greatly beloved. When she died she was buried in 
the seminary grounds and a beautiful marble tablet stands 
over her honored grave, on one side of which are the 
words : 

Mary Lyon, the Founder of Mount Holyoke Female 
Seminary, and for twelve years its Principal; a Teacher 
for more than thirty-five years and of more than three 
thousand pupils. Born Feb. 28, 1797 ; Died March 5, 1849. 

After her death a paper was found containing seven 
ways of wasting time, against which she guarded, as 
follows : 

1. Indefinite musings. 

2. Anticipating needlessly. 

3. Needless speculations. 

4. Reluctance to begin a duty. 

5. Not deciding at once in doubtful cases. 

6. Musing needlessly on what has been said or done, 

or what may be. 

7. Spending time in reveries which should be spent 

in prayer. 



13. FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, NURSE 

Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy, in 
1820. She was the daughter of an English landowner, 
who lived on a picturesque estate in Derbyshire, and who 
gave her the best education she could secure from books, 
school, and travel. As a little girl she showed great 
interest in the poor and sick, and was kind to animals. 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL 269 

Even the squirrels on the lawn made friends with her. 
Often as she sat at her father's table with all the good 
things to eat and the beautiful silver, glass, and china 
before her, she would think of the poor and sick who 
were without even an orange to quench the thirst of 
fever. Frequently she drove with her father's physician 
into the country, taking baskets filled with dainties, often 
denying herself something that she might share with 
others. Everybody loved to have her enter the sick- 
room, for her unselfish and helpful nature made her a 
tender nurse. Until then, nurses were taken from the 
same class of women as ordinary domestic servants. Few 
realized that nursing was an art to be learned, requiring 
intelligence, knowledge, and skill, as well as sympathy and 
love. But the devotion of Florence Nightingale changed 
all this. She was an accomplished young lady, possessing 
abundant wealth. She was happy at home, a general 
favorite, and the center of an admiring circle. She was 
favored with everything that might have made her social 
and domestic life full of attractiveness to most young 
women. But she turned her back on the gay world that 
opened to her to tread a path that led to suffering and 
sorrow. She went to Germany to take training as a 
nurse, beginning at the very start. She learned the use 
of the washing-cloth, the scrubbing-brush, and the duster. 
For three months she was in daily and nightly attendance 
on the sick in the German hospital. Returning to Eng- 
land she gave her time, strength, and means to nursing 
her sisters in the Hospital for Sick Governesses in Lon- 
don. Here her health began to fail, and she returned 
home to seek the needed rest in her father's home of 
wealth. But a new cry arose for help. The Crimean war 
was raging. There was a great want of skilled nurses to 
relieve the dreadful suflferings of the wounded soldiers 
who were lying in the hospitals. She at once offered 



2^0 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

her services to her country, and was sent, with thirty- 
four other women nurses, reaching Russia on the day of 
the fearful battle of Inkerman, November 5, 1854. The 
hospitals were filled with sick and wounded soldiers — 
four thousand suffering from cholera and other horrors 
that war brings. Miss Nightingale met the wounded 
and dying with smiles and words of cheer. Many of the 
sick wept for joy at the first touch of a woman's hand 
they had felt for years. She seemed to be everywhere, 
superintending the washing of their clothing, and beds, 
cooking their food, assisting the chaplain with his school, 
furnishing books for the soldiers to read, writing their 
letters, saving their money, or sending it to their relatives 
at home. How the soldiers loved her ! Many of them 
whom she could not personally tend kissed her very 
shadow as it fell on their pillows, as she passed at night. 
They called her the " Lady of the Lamp." 

He sleeps! Who o'er his placid slumber bends? 
His foes are gone; and here he hath no friends. 
Is it some seraph sent to grant him grace? 
No! 'Tis an earthly form with human face! 

Returning to England at the close of the war she was 
invited to Balmoral Castle by Queen Victoria, who gave 
her a beautiful jewel, an emblem of her work, with the 
inscription, " Blessed are the Merciful," engraved on one 
side, surmounted by a crown of diamonds. The English 
Government gave her two hundred and fifty thousand 
dollars, which she used in founding " The Nightingale 
School of Nurses " in London. The English soldiers 
wanted ,to erect a statue of her in London, and each 
promised to give one penny for it, thinking she could not 
object to a gift so small from each grateful giver; but she 
refused to let them do it, telling them that it would please 
her more if they would give the money to the hospitals. 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL 2/1 

She left a record of unselfish devotion to duty which 
has enriched the world. She died in 1910, full of years 
and honors. 

On England's annals, through the long 
Hereafter of her speech and song, 

That light its rays shall cast 

From portals of the past. 
A Lady with a Lamp shall stand 
In the great history of the land, 

A noble type of good, 

Heroic womanhood. 

— Longfellow, " Santa Filomena." 

14. FRANCES E. WILLARD^ REFORMER 

Frances E. Willard was born in Churchville, near 
Rochester, N. Y, When she was two years old her 
family moved to Oberlin, Ohio, and when she was five, 
to the beautiful farm in Wisconsin, " Forest Home." 
Here she spent her girlhood, working and playing in the 
fields with her only brother and sister Mary. Her 
father promised each of the children a library if they 
would not use coffee or tea until they were twenty-one. 
They gladly complied with this condition, because each of 
them had a great thirst for knowledge, Frances wrote 
stories, plays, poems, and essays at an early age, and at 
sixteen she won a prize for an essay on " Country 
Houses." At eighteen she entered Milwaukee College, 
but with the removal of the family to Evanston, 111., she 
entered Northwestern University, graduating with honors. 
She first taught a country school, then became teacher 
in her alma mater, then a teacher in Pittsburg Fe- 
male Seminary, and later preceptress in the Genesee 
Wesleyan Seminary, at Lima, N. Y. After a short time 
of travel in Europe studying widely and writing for 
American magazines, she made so deep an impression in 



272 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

an address delivered at a woman's missionary meeting, 
that she was urged to become a lecturer, which she did 
with great success. In 1871 she was elected president of 
the woman's college of her alma mater, and two years 
later she became dean of the college and professor of 
esthetics in the Northwestern University. In 1873 she 
gave up her college work to organize the Woman's 
Christian Temperance Union of America, and to begin 
her twelve years' campaign with lectures before four 
thousand audiences. She was largely instrumental in 
securing the enactment of laws in many States of the 
Union to introduce physiological temperance and the sci- 
entific study of stimulants and narcotics into the cur- 
riculum of the public schools. For years she was mis- 
understood; often bitterly criticized, despised, and 
scorned. But at last she triumphed! Distinguished 
philanthropists, reformers, and citizens of England as- 
sembled in the City Temple of London to give her a re- 
ception, and heaped upon her the highest honors, which 
she modestly received in the name of the women of 
America. Beginning with nothing, in twenty years, 
single-handed, this noble woman organized the women 
of her country into a vast army that extends to village 
and city, and State and nation, and to foreign lands, with 
vast equipment of more than sixty departments and 
methods of activity for public agitation, a system of 
temperance journals for children and youth for securing 
instruction in the public schools upon the nature of 
stimulants. It is said Frances Willard was a woman 
without a fault. Not only in temperance, but in every 
good work, did she work for the redemption of humanity. 
In an article to girls, she wrote : " Keep to your specialty, 
whether it is raising turnips, or painting screens or battle 
scenes, studying political economy or domestic receipts. 
Have a resolute aim. If I were asked the mission of the 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL 273 

ideal woman, I would reply, * It is to make the whole 
world homelike ! ' " 



15. LIVINGSTONE, MISSIONARY-EXPLORER 

David Livingstone was born in Blantyre, Scotland, 
March 19, 1813. His father was a traveling tea-merchant 
who often acted as a colporter, distributing tracts, and 
showing a true missionary spirit. His mother was an' 
active, sunny, loving woman. His home, enriched by 
little beyond the bare necessities of life, was happy and 
brightened by industry, cheerfulness, love for one 
another, and faith in God. He was a good boy to his 
mother, often helping her sweep and even scrub, " if 
she would bolt the door so none of the boys would see 
him," because in Scotland it was thought beneath a man's 
dignity to " help the women-folk." It was the proud 
boast of his mother that in his sweeping, " he even swept 
under the door-mat." He loved to climb the hills of 
beautiful Scotland, gathering wildflowers, curious stones, 
and mineral specimens. One day he climbed the highest 
tower in the ruins of Bothwell Castle and carved his 
name above those of the other boys. When he was ten 
he was sent to work as a piecer in a cotton-factory. With 
a part of his first week's wages he purchased a Latin 
grammar. Although working from six in the morning 
until eight at night, he attended night-school from eight 
to ten, learning Latin and the sciences. At the age of 
sixteen he was familiar with Virgil and Horace and other 
classical authors. In his thirst for knowledge he placed 
his book on the spinning-jenny where he could read it as 
he walked back and forth at his work. When he was 
nineteen he gave up his work in the winter months to 
attend Glasgow University, where he studied Greek, 
medicine, and theology. He became deeply interested in 
s 



274 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

missionary work and desired to go to China, but Dr. 
Robert Moffat persuaded him to go to Africa by telling 
him that " on a clear morning could be seen the smoke 
of a thousand villages where no missionary had ever 
been." So, in December, 1840, he began the long, five- 
months' trip to the far-off African coast, studying the 
stars and taking observations by them, which experience 
was of great value to him later when in Africa he was 
deserted by his guides and had to blaze his own trail. 
He traveled inland, first learning the language and then 
preaching, healing, and teaching. In the forest one day 
he shot at a lion which sprang upon him, caught him by 
the shoulder, shook him as a terrier dog does a rat, 
crushed his arm, and would have ended his life at once 
if one of the natives had not appeared and quickly shot 
the lion dead. In 1844 David Livingstone married the 
daughter of Doctor Moffat. He went back to Scotland 
several times, where he wrote many books, one of which 
made him rich ; but he used his wealth in further work of 
discovery and the suppression of the slave-trade. In 
1863 he set out on his long search for the source of the 
Nile, and for seven long years amid sufferings, massacres, 
atrocities, disappointments, he traveled through the 
jungles of the black continent, until one day, in 1871, 
Henry M. Stanley, sent out by the New York Herald, 
appeared, " almost as an angel from heaven." Stanley, 
who lived with him in the same house, boat, and tent for 
four months, said, " I never found a fault in him." 
Stanley urged him to return, but Livingstone felt his task 
was unfinished, and so plunged again into the work, 
writing to the New York Herald: " All I can add in my 
loneliness is, may heaven's rich blessing come down on 
every one, American, English, or Turk, who will help to 
heal the open sore of the world " — meaning the awful 
slave-traffic. Not long after, an attack of pneumonia made 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL 275 

him so weak that he had to be carried to a hut, where 
his servants left him for the night. About four o'clock 
in the morning the boy who lay at the door keeping 
watch called in alarm. By the light of the candle still 
burning they saw him upon his knees by his bedside, as 
if in prayer. Then they knew that he had gone on his 
last journey, and without a single attendant. Lovingly 
his devoted servants embalmed his body and sent it to 
England to be buried in Westminster Abbey with the 
great of the earth. But his heart they buried by Lake 
Banguilo, in the land for whose people he had toiled so 
long, and for whom he gave up his life. On April i8, 
1874, the great missionary-explorer was laid in his grave 
in Westminster Abbey, with sorrow and yet with re- 
joicing, for they knew well that his life had not been 
lived in vain. 

Open the abbey doors and bear him in 
To sleep with king and statesman, chief and sage — 

The missionary, come of weaver kin, 
But great by work that brooks no lower wage. 

He needs no epitaph to guard a name 
Which men shall prize while worthy work is known; 

He lived and died for good — be that his fame; 
Let marble crumble — this is Living-stone! 



16. SPURGEON, PREACHER 

The life-story of Charles Haddon Spurgeon is an epic 
of accomplishment. The eldest of a family of seventeen 
children — a true Rooseveltian family — he was born June 
19, 1834, to Rev. John Spurgeon, minister of the Congre- 
gational Church at Kilvedon, Essex County, England, 
and his wife, formerly Miss Jarvis. Both parents were 
earnest, devout, intellectual people who gave their chil- 



276 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

dren all that was possible to provide on a very small 
salary. At an early age he went to live in the home of 
his grandfather, also a Congregational minister. One day 
a visiting minister, struck with the boy's ability and 
character, said, " This lad will preach the gospel to 
thousands." Having received a good education at a 
private academy at Colchester, at fifteen he became an 
assistant school-teacher. One Sunday, when he was six- 
teen, he visited a little Methodist church and heard a 
sermon on the text, " Look unto me and be ye saved." 
This sermon led to his conversion. He said, " I had been 
waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard the word 
* Look ! ' what a charming word it seemed to me." At 
seventeen he became a teacher in a classical school in 
Cambridge, and was often in demand for addresses to 
Sunday-school children. At eighteen he was known as 
the " boy preacher," and became minister of the Baptist 
Church at Waterbeach, five miles from Cambridge, on an 
annual salary of two hundred dollars. This young school- 
teacher also preached at thirteen village stations main- 
tained by his little church. An address at a Sunday- 
school anniversary was heard by a stranger, who was so 
much impressed by it that he recommended this young 
man as the pastor of a famous Baptist church in London, 
to which he was called at the age of nineteen. He was 
so eloquent, persuasive, straightforward, that he won 
the hearts of his hearers, and soon all London and Eng- 
land was talking of the youthful Whitefield. Within a 
year the church building had to be enlarged and over- 
flowing congregations came to hear him in the great 
Exeter Hall. Then the enlarged church proved much too 
small to accommodate the crowds who flocked to hear 
him. The Music Hall of Surrey Gardens, an immense 
building, was rented, and it was a common thing for him 
to preach to ten thousand people at one service. He was 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL 2'J'J 

ridiculed and caricatured in merciless ways by news- 
papers, ministers, and others, but his motto was, " Drive 
On ! Drive On ! " And in his simple and earnest preach- 
ing he drove on. In 1861 the great, classic Metropolitan 
Tabernacle was opened for services. It cost one hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars, and seats five thousand five 
hundred persons, with standing room for almost one 
thousand more. For thirty years, or until his death, he 
preached in the great building with every seat and all 
the available standing-room occupied. His congregation 
included all classes — professional men, tradesmen, dock- 
hands, soldiers in their bright-red uniforms, men and 
women of title, the poor outcast with the shawl over her 
head, the blear-eyed drunkard. Chinamen and bronzed 
Indiamen, and visitors from America and other lands — 
all hanging on the words of this most popular preacher 
of the world. In appearance he was not a prepossessing 
man. He was below the medium height, stout, his short 
hair brushed back from a low forehead, small eyes, heavy 
lips, fat cheeks hanging over a heavy jaw fringed with a 
short beard. He looked like a plain, every-day business 
man. Instead of a white cravat he wore a little black tie. 
His voice was remarkable for its sweetness and purity, 
as well as its penetrating power. His language was 
simple, but a massive grandeur accompanied his simplicity 
of speech, which captivated every listener. There was also 
a peculiar directness of address that made every hearer 
feel that he was the person spoken to as a member of a 
family entering into confidence with the father of the 
household. Besides being " England's greatest preacher," 
as an archdeacon of Saint Paul's Cathedral called him, 
he was a great philanthropist, commentator, administra- 
tor, lecturer, and writer. An orphanage for boys was 
begun in 1867, and one for girls in 1880, at Stockwell, 
London. In these orphanages five or six hundred father- 



278 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

less children, from six to ten years, find a comfortable 
home and training until they are fourteen. People of 
wealth entrusted to him large gifts of money for this 
philanthropic work, because they had perfect confidence 
in whatever he undertook. He built a Pastor's College, 
where poor young men could receive proper training for 
their work as ministers or missionaries. He also edited 
a monthly magazine, " The Sword and Trowel " ; wrote 
commentaries; organized a colportage association; and 
encouraged his wife's " Book Fund " to provide free 
gifts of books for poor pastors. He wrote and pubHshed 
thirty-seven volumes of sermons and numberless tracts. 
He loved to give away Bibles. He was beloved by all 
denominations, and his sermons and other works, read 
and admired by all classes, have been translated into many 
foreign tongues. He was very happy in his home life 
with his charming wife and twin sons, who became 
preachers. " That word ' home,' " he used to say, " rings 
like a peal of wedding bells, only more sweet and low, 
and it chimes deeper into the ear of the heart." After 
a short illness, this great preacher and philanthropist died, 
at the age of only fifty-eight. That wonderful voice, 
which for more than forty years had swayed great multi- 
tudes with its fervid eloquence, was heard by a few 
listeners to say, faint and low, and almost inarticulate, 
" I have finished my course. I have kept the faith." 
These words were inscribed on his coffin of olive-wood, 
the wood itself symbolic of peace. 

17. GRENFELL, MEDICAL MISSIONARY 

Where the bitter winds of the north Atlantic sweep 
over the coast of Labrador, and the giant icebergs slowly 
sail in their opalescent majesty through the waters of the 
ocean, like phantom ships or dream palaces, lies a coun- 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL 279 

try inhabited by very poor fisherfolk, who depend upon 
the scanty harvests gathered from the waters for their 
Hving. When the " catch " is poor there is much suffer- 
ing, and the children are clothed and fed more poorly 
than usual. The warm, bright days are few, and there 
are no swimming holes or long, delightful summer vaca- 
tions and picnics for boys and girls. 

Far away in merry England under its soft and sunny 
skies, a boy was born in 1865 — Wilfred T. Grenfell. 
When he became a young medical student he heard 
Dwight L. Moody, the great American evangelist, so 
interpret the old, old story of Jesus in terms of loving 
service for others, that he resolved to devote his life to 
the poor and desolate. With such a vision of love the 
young physician left his home and friends, and sailed 
away up into the North Sea among the poor fishermen, 
where there were no doctors to cure them when they 
were ill or set their broken bones when the cruel sea 
dashed them upon the rocks. Later, when others came to 
help. Doctor Grenfell decided to go where no one else 
cared to go. He again sailed away, this time to Labrador 
and the coast of Newfoundland. How cheerless and 
desolate that country appears, how far away from Eng- 
land and America ! Think of the coldest day and bitter- 
est storm you ever knew, and that is what Doctor Gren- 
fell found when he arrived, all alone, and where he has 
worked so long and hard to make life happier and to 
help the poor Eskimos understand something of the un- 
selfish love of the Christ-life, which is his ideal. He 
found them ignorant, poor, and miserable. When they 
were ill there was no one to help. When they fell over 
the mountain spurs and broke their bones, they must die 
or be crippled for life, for no one knew how to put the 
bones in place. Along three thousand miles of coast 
this good man goes in summer in his little steamboat. 



28o WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

fighting the cruel waves, dodging the icebergs, always in 
peril, but never caring as long as he can reach the sick 
and ease their pain and suffering. In winter the water is 
frozen, and he must take his long, perilous journey by 
sledge. With his teams of dogs hitched to his stout 
sledge " Lend-a-hand," he drives over those snow-covered 
fields where there are only tall poles set up to mark a 
trail, often being lost in the storms or breaking through 
the ice into the waters of half-frozen streams, or being 
dashed over the side of the steep path, or being buried 
under an avalanche of snow from which he must dig 
himself and his dogs out. But he is never discouraged. 
With a keen sense of humor he sees the funny side of 
things and in those cheerless, miserable homes he laughs 
and tells his experiences, plays with the little ones, and 
makes every one around him happy. He is Santa Claus 
to the children, and " Good Samaritan " to the man by the 
wayside. Often " Lend-a-hand " is his only bed, for 
although the dogs are trained to watch for the poles set 
to mark the path, they sometimes miss them in the storm, 
and stray from the trail, and then Doctor Grenfell turns 
his sledge up on the side, digs a hole in the snow, lights 
a fire, and crawls into his sleeping-bag and spends the 
night out-of-doors, while the dogs dig a place in the 
snow for themselves, to wait for the morning light to 
help them to find the lost trail. Through Doctor Grenfell 
a hospital has been erected on the coast, where trained 
physicians and nurses care for the poor people who are 
shipwrecked or who can be taken away from their 
wretched homes to be cared for. Do you wonder that 
the people love this bright, cheerful Englishman, with the 
endurance of a man and the tenderness of a woman, who 
is translating his life into love, and trying to follow 
John Wesley's golden advice in the simple familiar 
lines ? 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL 281 

Do all the good you can, 
By all the means you can, 
In all the ways you can, 
In all the places you can. 
At all the times you can, 
To all the people you can, 
As long as ever you can. 



18. WRIGHT BROTHERS, AVIATORS 

Rarely in the history of the world have two great 
brothers been linked as closely together as Wilbur and 
Orville Wright, the pioneers in aviation. Four years 
different in age, they grew up together, studied, experi- 
mented, invented, and dared together. Each has an equal 
claim to be called the creator of the aeroplane, the Edison 
of the air, the dean of birdmen, and even " the first man 
to fly." Wilbur may have been the first actually to rise 
from the earth in an engine-driven, " heavier-than-air " 
aeroplane, but neither of the brothers would ever make a 
positive statement about it. They always spoke of them- 
selves as " Wright Brothers," or " We." Wilbur was 
born near Millville, Ind., April i6, 1867; Orville, in Day- 
ton, Ohio, August 19, 187 1. Their father was a cultured 
bishop of the United Brethren Church, and their mother 
was a college graduate. Both boys graduated from the 
Dayton public school and high school, after which they 
became printers and bicycle dealers in a dingy, common- 
place little brick shop. Here fame found them. They 
had no idea of flying until 1896, when they read the news- 
paper report of the death of Otto Lillienthal, who, after 
he had made over two thousand gliding flights in the air, 
met his death by a fall. In 1900 they became intensely 
interested in the experiments with air-gliders then carried 
on by Professor Langley, Octave Chanute, and others. 
On a country road outside of Dayton they began to fly 



282 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

kites and gliders equipped with an ingenious motive- 
power method of control. After this they went to Kitty 
Hawk, N. C, where a number of sand-dunes made a 
suitable place to glide from against the strong, steady 
winds that they found necessary for their gliding tests. 
They studied birds in flight and found that, in reality, a 
bird is an aeroplane. The part of the wings nearest to the 
body support it in the air, leaving the more flexible 
portion at the extremities to flap up and down and act as 
propellers. By gliding experiments they also found that 
the air along the surface of the earth is continually under- 
going a churning movement, every building, hill, and 
tree sending up its air wave. In 1903 they made their 
first real flight of twelve seconds with their twelve horse- 
power aeroplane ; in 1904 they increased their flight from 
one to five minutes; and in 1905 they made a hundred 
and fifty flights, making twenty-four miles through the 
air in thirty-eight minutes. Desiring some government 
to purchase their invention, they offered it to France, only 
to be refused. But two years later Wilbur sailed for 
France, where he was so successful in flights that the 
French Government paid him one hundred thousand dol- 
lars ; and in Italy and Germany many private sales were 
made. Meanwhile Orville was flying his aeroplane at Fort 
Meyer in the United States, where he succeeded in selling 
a machine to the United States Government for thirty 
thousand dollars. In one of his flights Orville received 
a fall, which broke his thigh and caused the death of 
Lieutenant Selfridge, the first victim of power-driven 
aeroplanes. How both brothers ever lived through their 
early flights is a matter of wonder. A part of the ex- 
planation is to be found in their character. They proved 
their scientific theories to the last point. They were 
always courageous, never reckless. Unstinted praise 
should be given them because they have been a con- 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL 283 

servative influence in the field of aviation. By precept, 
example, and command, when they could command, they 
fought against the recklessness of performers who have 
dared death in unnecessary feats to thrill spectators at a 
show. Neither in America nor in Europe did either of 
them make one curve or flight for sensational effect. It 
seems strange that Wilbur should have died in his bed of 
typhoid fever, and not have met his death from a fall. 
He died in the height of his inventive genius and glory, 
leaving his brother Orville to continue the work alone. 
He left a large estate as the result of their joint inven- 
tion. But best of all, he left an unsullied name. Simple, 
honest, unaffected, devoted to his art, he lived, worked, 
and died as becomes a true man. He was always gentle 
and modest, as is his brother. The things he had done 
never seemed much to him on account of the things he 
intended to do. In the record of American inventions 
there is no more brilliant chapter than the story of their 
marvelous conquest of the air, and no matter what the 
future may hold in store, the name and fame of the 
Wright Brothers will live with those of Watts, Stephen- 
son, Howe, Arkwright, Fulton, and Edison. 

There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, 
Can circumvent, or hinder, or control 
The firm resolve of a determined soul, 

Gifts count for nothing; will alone is great; 

All things give way before it soon or late. 
What obstacle can stay the mighty force 
Of the sea-seeking river in its course. 

Or cause the ascending orb of day to wait? 
Each well-born soul must win what it deserves. 

Let the fool prate of luck. The fortunate 
Is he whose earnest purpose never swerves. 
Whose slightest action or inaction serves 
The one great aim. 

Why, even death stands still 

And waits an hour, sometimes, for such a will. 



284 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

19. JANE ADDAMS, SETTLEMENT WORKER 

Among the " girls who became useful," none can take 
a higher rank than Jane Addams, the founder of " Hull 
House," a center which radiates love and good will into 
the great city of Chicago. This " Palace of a Thousand 
Joys " is a little city of refuge for the homeless and hope- 
less, for the man without work, for the overworked 
mother whose fretful children can be left to the gentle 
care of the sweet-voiced helpers of Miss Addams, for 
the discouraged mill-girl and factory-hand, for the old 
and young of that bustling city. 

Miss Addams was born in a home of plenty in Cedar- 
ville. 111., where her happy childhood was passed with- 
out knowing poverty, as she played with her brother in 
the free out-of-doors that should be the heritage of every 
boy and girl in America. She was not strong, as her 
spine was weak, and she had to carry her head on one 
side. This was a great sorrow to her, for she was afraid 
her father, a large, handsome man, would be ashamed of 
his plain, crooked girl. But she found her father was 
all the more tender to his frail child. He talked lovingly 
to her of the equality of all, of the rich and poor, and 
taught her that the duty of the rich was to help make life 
happier for the poor. In this teaching of her wise, lov- 
ing father, was laid the foundation of the life-work of 
this " Little Sister of the Poor." She was so sensitive 
that once when she had told an untruth she could not 
sleep until she had confessed her fault to her father, who 
said : " I am glad if I have a little daughter who must tell 
lies, that she cannot sleep afterward." 

She attended the village school until she went to Rock- 
ford to a seminary, from which she graduated. After- 
ward she went to Europe several times, visiting all the 
great art-galleries. While in London she went to the 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL 285 

East Side, where the poorest of England's poor live. 
She was greatly grieved by the sight of tiny children, 
half-starved, with old, wizened faces, toiling from morn- 
ing until night in the mills and factories, with never a 
day to play in the green fields, chasing the butterflies and 
gathering wildflowers. In America she saw things that 
made her sad — ^poverty, vice, and sorrow; little children 
and weak women with tasks too heavy for them, and with 
no time for pleasure or improvement. So when she 
was traveling in Spain for pleasure, she suddenly resolved 
to devote the rest of her life to helping the poor of her 
own land. Returning to Chicago, she and her friend, 
Miss Starr, took an old house that had once been a hand- 
some home, but was now in the midst of the poorest part 
of the city. They fitted it up with comfortable furniture, 
hung beautiful pictures brought from Europe on the 
walls, and began the work among Chicago's poor that 
has resulted in the celebrated settlement of Hull House. 
They provided a day-nursery where little children could 
be cared for while their mothers were at work; reading 
clubs for boys and girls; sewing clubs; a gymnasium; 
an art school and kindergarten; entertainments for the 
children and their fathers and mothers. Every one is 
welcome to this bright, cheerful home, full of love and 
good will for each and all. The Polish, Italian, and Jewish 
children mingle freely together. No creed is thought of 
save the creed of Jesus, " A new commandment I give 
unto you, Love one another." The children are told 
stories, given care when ill, and help at all times, so that, 
in the eyes of the world, " Hull House " and " Jane 
Addams " now stand together for all that is best and 
most helpful in philanthropy and settlement work. 

Miss Addams' service does not cease at the door of 
Hull House. She goes about the country talking to 
thousands of people in the interests of better laws for 



286 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

children and better wages for women and girls. Do you 
wonder that this useful woman is known by the gentle 
title of " Kind Heart " ? 



20. HELEN KELLER, MARVEL 

No fairy tale can be more marvelous than the story 
of Helen Keller, the wonderful heroine who overcame 
insurmountable obstacles before she could find her way 
to mingle with her fellow men and attain her place in 
the world's work. 

Until she was almost a year old Helen was like other 
babies — only brighter. She talked when she was six 
months old, walked as early as one year, and seemed in- 
terested in everything her baby eyes saw, and her ears 
heard. But a serious illness fell upon this bright little 
baby girl, and she was not expected to live. When at 
last she was out of danger the light had gone from her 
beautiful eyes, her tiny ears could not hear the tender 
crooning of her mother's voice, and her little tongue was 
still. In darkness and silence she must pass her days, as 
if some wicked fairy had suddenly stolen the greatest 
treasures of her life. At first she would lie in her 
mother's lap, as she had done while she was ill, but as she 
grew older she learned to play with her little colored girl, 
Martha Washington, who went everywhere with her. 
She was also fond of her little dog Belle. She hunted 
eggs with Martha and Belle, through the tall grass, where 
the nests of the guinea-hens were, and she always wanted 
to carry the eggs herself for fear Martha might fall and 
break them. When she wished to go on an egg-hunt 
she would double up her hands and stoop down, as if she 
were feeling for something. She nodded her head for 
" yes," shook it for " no," and shivered for cold, but she 
would often become angry because she could not make 




HELEN KELLER 



MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL 287 

herself understood by any one, and had to live in her 
dungeon of darkness with all the beautiful things of life 
shut out. She grew so unhappy in her loneliness that her 
parents took her to a great specialist to learn if anything 
could be done to restore her sight, speech, or hearing, 
but all was hopeless. Dr. Graham Bell, of Washington, 
told them what was being done for the blind, deaf, and 
dumb children in Boston, in the school for the blind under 
Doctor Anagnos. He secured a special teacher, Miss Anne 
Sullivan, who went to live with the little " shut-in " girl 
in her home in Tuscumbia, Ala. With infinite patience 
the teacher taught Helen the sign-language, first spelling 
the words for things in the little hand. Helen thought 
this was a new kind of game, but; one day when at the 
pump the teacher held Helen's hand under the spout 
and spelled w-a-t-e-r as the water poured over her hand, 
then Helen knew she was being taught the meaning of 
words. From that moment she learned very fast. Then 
she learned to touch the lips of the speaker, with her 
sensitive finger-tips, and she understood what was said. 
So Helen Keller came out of her house of bondage into 
the wonderful world of knowledge and delight. She 
could " feel " things. She could express herself. Others 
could understand her. She could tell the color of a flower 
she held. She learned the blind alphabet, she went to 
Perkins Institute for the Blind where she learned to 
read many books in the blind language. At last she 
learned to speak. Then she resolved to go to college. 
At length she entered RadcliflFe College in Cambridge, 
Mass., where she studied and listened to the lectures by 
having some one who could hear spell the lecture out 
into her hand. She learned to use the typewriter and 
make out her lessons. At nineteen, when she entered col- 
lege, she had accomplished what many girls of that age, 
in possession of all their senses, have not accomplished. 



288 WORLD STORIES RETOLD 

She wrote a book of her Hfe which was published and 
brought her a great deal of money. She was a general 
favorite among her schoolmates. She enjoyed her life, 
and was bright, happy, and gay ; having no consciousness 
of being in any way handicapped. She was fond of fun, 
and laughed heartily at the funny side of things. She 
went to the seashore, having pleasant times in bathing. 
Although still shut away in blindness and in deafness, 
she lives a courageous life of usefulness in a wonderful 
degree, and often entertains audiences by the story of 
her life. Miss Sullivan is married, but still lives with her 
and loves her as when she was a little girl who depended 
on her for everything worth having in life. 

Helen Keller, this ambitious, brilliant girl who can 
neither see nor hear, has been likened to Napoleon Bona- 
parte in her ability to overcome insurmountable ob- 
stacles and attain the pinnacle of success through the 
exercise of an indomitable will-power and the cooperation 
of those who loved and admired the spirit and ambition 
of her, whom Mark Twain called the " Marvel of the 
Twentieth Century," and of whom Edmund Clarence 
Stedman sang: 

Mute, sightless visitant, 
From what uncharted world 
Hast voyaged into life's wide sea 

With guidance scant? 
As if some bark mysteriously 

Should hither glide with spars aslant 
And sails all furled. 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF STORIES 



PAGE 

Addams, Jane, Settlement 
Worker 284 

Aladdin and His Wonderful 

Lamp 60 

Alcott, Louisa May, Author.... 252 
America, How, Was Found.... 200 
America, How, Was Named... 201 

Androcles and the Lion 184 

Ant, The, and the Grasshopper. 71 
Arrow-boy, The, and the Two 

Friends I3S 

Audubon, Naturalist 262 

Babies, The, and the Wise Judge 137 
Baby Brother, The, in a Basket- 
boat 128 

Bear, Why the, Has a Stumpy 

Tail n 

Bell, The, of Justice 190 

Blind Men, The, and the Ele- 
phant 70 

Bonheur, Rosa, Painter 253 

Boone and His Swing 223 

Boots and His Brothers 63 

Boston Tea Party, The 213 

Boy, The, and the Echo T2 

Boy, The, and the Mad Dog 242 

Boy, The, and the Nuts 66 

Boy, The, and the Train 242 

Boy, The, Who Hated Trees.. 103 
Boy, The, Who Lived in a 

Church 130 

Boy, The, With His Lunch 164 

Boy Hero, The, of Holland 233 

Boys, The, and the Frogs 67 

Boys, Why, Take off Their Hats 

in Church 129 

Bride, The, Worth Her Weight 

in Silver 210 

Brothers, The First Two 117 

Bruce and the Spider 187 

Burbank, Fairy Godfather of 
the Orchards 265 

Camel, The Lost 106 

Camel, The, in the Tent T2 

Christmas Day, The First 150 

Christmas Gift, The 112 

Christmas Tree, The Legend of 114 

Cloud, The 94 

Cobwebs. The Golden 113 

College Boys, Four, Who Kept 

Strong 143 

College, The First, in America. 212 

Cornelia and Her Jewels iSg 

Coyote, The, and the Indian 

Fire-bringer 88 

Cripple, The, at the Beautiful 

Gate 174 

Crow, The, and the Pitcher 68 



PAGE 

Damon and Pythias 183 

Darling, Grace 237 

Daughter, The, Who Honored 

Her Mother 131 

Diamonds and Toads 51 

Dick Whittington and His Cat. loi 

Dog, The, in the Manger 66 

Dove, The, and the Ant 67 

Duckling, The Ugly 90 

Dwarf, The, in the Mulberry 

Tree 166 

Earthquake, The Japanese and 

the 23s 

Easter Day, The First........ 172 

Edison, Wizard of Electricity. . 263 

Elephant, The, and the Tailor. 105 
Emperor, The, and the Bird's 

Nest 193 

Emperor, The, and the Goose- 
boy 195 

Ernperor, The, and the School 

Children 196 

Evangeline and the Burning of 

Acadia 211 

Face, The Great Stone 95 

Fir Tree, The 109 

Flood, The, and the Rainbow... 119 

Fourth of July, The First 217 

Fox, The, and the Grapes 67 

Fox, The, Without a Tail 71 

Friend, The Children's 161 

Friends, Four, in the Fiery Fur- 
nace 144 

Frog King, The 52 

Garibaldi and the Lost Lamb.. 240 
Girl, The, and Her Red Petti- 
coat 243 

Girl, The Obliging, at the Well 122 
Girl, The, Who Knew She Was 

^ Right 175 

Girl, Tired of Being a Little... 105 
Gladstone and the Street-sweep- 
er 239 

Golden Goose, The 49 

Goldilocks and the Three Bears 55 

Goose With the Golden Eggs.. 66 

Grasshopper, The Conceited... 70 

Greeley, Horace, Editor 260 

Grenfell, Medical Missionary.. 278 

Hale, Nathan 215 

Hare, The, and the Tortoise... 69 

Hen, The Little Red 48 

Heroine, The, of Gettysburg.. 225 
Heroine, The, of North Carolina 219 

Heroine, The, of Ohio 221 

Hobson and the Merrimac 226 

289 



290 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF STORIES 



PAGE 

HotHe, How a Happy, Was Lost 116 

Horatius at the Bridge 182 

Hovenden and the Little Boy.. 241 

Inchcape Bell, The 187 

Indians' Gunpowder Harvest... 205 

Jack and the Bean-stalk 58 

Jack the Giant-killer 59 

Jesus, When, Left His Carpen- 
ter Shop IS7 

Jesus, When, Was a Boy 152 

Jesus, When, Was Forsaken... 171 

Jesus, When, Was Lost 155 

Jesus, When, Won His Great 

Victory 159 

Keller, Helen, Marvel 286 

King Alfred and the Cakes 186 

King, The Little Boy- 138 

King, The, of the Golden River 91 
King, The, With the Basin and 

the Towel 170 

Kit Carson and the Bears 224 

Ladder, The, that Reached to 

Heaven 124 

Larks The, in the Wheat-field. 74 
Lincoln, Abraham, and the Pig. 239 
Lincoln, Emancipation President 257 

Lind, Jenny, Singer 255 

Lion, The, and the Fox 69 

Lion, The, and the Mouse.... 74 

"Little Ten Minutes" 198 

Livingstone, Missionary-Explorer 273 

Longfellow, Poet 246 

Lost Colony, The 203 

Love, Where, Is, God Is 98 

Lyon, Mary, Educator 267 

Maid, The, Awakened 162 

Man, The, in the Moon 78 

Man, The, Who First Sailed 

Around the World 202 

Man, The, Who Was Not 

Afraid to Pray 146 

Man, The, Who Wrote " Amer- 
ica " 230 

Mayflower, The, and the Pil- 
grims 206 

Miller, The, and His Donkey.. 75 

Monkey, The, and the Cats 73 

Mozart, Musician 248 

Napoleon and the Drummer-boy 191 

Neighbor, The Good 167 

Newsboy, The, of Gary 244 

Nightingale, Florence, Nurse.. 268 

Ole Bull, Violinist 250 

Patriot, The German, and the 
Barley-fields 234 

Patriot, The Swiss, and the 
Spears 194 

Paul Revere's Ride 214 

Persian, The, and His Sons... 76 



PAGE 

Phaethon's Wonderful Ride.... 80 

Picciola 192 

Piper, The Pied 100 

Pocahontas 204 

Prince, The Little Lame 136 

Prince, The Who Hated Spi- 
ders and Flies 104 

Prisoner, The, and the Ship- 
wreck 177 

Prometheus, The Greek Fire- 
giver 79 

Putnam and the Wolf 223 

Raleigh, Sir Walter 188 

Rebecca and the Snake 209 

Red Ridinghood 54 

Reed, General, and the Bribe.. 217 

Robin's Breast, Why the, is Red 77 

Ross, Betsy, and the Flag 228 

Runaway Pancake, The 47 

Saint Christopher 1 08 

Saint George and the Dragon.. 84 

Saint Patrick and the Snakes.. 86 
Scepter, The Golden, in the 

Palace of the Lily 147 

Servant, The Russian 236 

Shepherd Boy, The, and the 

Wolf 68 

Shepherd Boy, The, Who Slew 

a Giant 133 

Sidney, Sir Philip 189 

Slave-boy, The, Who Became 

a Prince 126 

Slave-girl, The, Who Helped a 

Great Captain 141 

Slave, The, Who Ran Away 

from His Master 179 

Sleeping Beauty, The 56 

Spurgeon, Preacher 275 

Storm-king, The 169 

Story, The, Without an End... 107 

Sunflower, The Story of the... 81 
Surveyor, The, and the Little 

Boy 238 

Thanksgiving Day, The First... 207 

Toadstool, The, and the Acorn 67 
Tolstoy's Daughter and the 

Peasant Boy 197 

Tom, the Chimney-sweep 96 

Touch, The Golden 82 

Trick, One Good 70 

Uncle, The Generous, and the 

Selfish Nephew 121 

Washington's Christmas Victory 218 

Willard, Frances E., Reformer 271 

Wind, The, and the Sun 68 

Wise Men, The, and the Star.. 151 
Woman, The, Who Shared Her 

Last Loaf 139 

World, How the. Was Made.. 115 

Wright Brothers, Aviators 281 

Wrists, The, Bound With the 

Red Thread 197 



ETHICAL INDEX OF STORIES 



Roman numerals refer to chapters of stories, and Arabic numerals refer 
to the number of story in the chapter. By this reference a story illustra- 
ting any ethical principle desired may be readily found. The pages on 
which the chapters of stories occur may readily be found by turning to 
the Table of Contents in front of book. 



Accuracy: II. ii, 13. is; IV. 13; 

VIII. is; IX. 2; XI. 18. 
Achievement: I. 11; II. 13; III. 8, 

9, 10; IV. 8; VI. 8, 13, 23; 

VIII. 6, 15; IX. I, 12, 14, 15, 17; 

X. 1-14; XI. 1-20. 
Adversity, action in: III. 8, 9, 10; 

IV. i; VI. 12, 23; VII. II, 12, 
13; IX. I, 4-8, II, 13-16, 18, 19, 

20, 24; X. 1-14; XI. 3, s, 7, 9, II. 

13, 15, 17, 19, 20. 
Agreeabieness : II. 18, 23; IV. 2; 

V. 3. S; VI. s, 6, 12, 18; VII. 3, 
7; VIII. 15, 16, 17; IX. 9, 10; 
X. 2, 7, 8, 14.; XI. I, 3. 

Aim: II. 22; III. 8, 9, 10; VIII. 6, 

u; IX. I, 3; XI. 1-20. 
Altruism: I. i, 3, 4, 8, 10; II. 6, 

21, 24; III. 2, 4, 8, 9, 10; IV. 2, 
3, 6; V. i; VI. 12, 18 23; VII. 5, 
9, II, 13, 14, 16; VIlI. 1-3, 8, 9, 

14, 17; IX. 1, 5, 9, 14-21, 24, 25; 
X. 1-14; XI. 1-20. 

Ambition: I. 10-12; II. 4, 9, 12; 

III. 8-10; IV. 2, 4, 8; V. i; VI. 5, 
8, 12, 13, 21, 23; VII. 3, 5, 13, 
16; VIII. II, 16; IX. I, IS, 16; 

X. 3, 10, 14; XI. 1-20. 

Anger: III. 9; IV. 2, 6, 7; VI. 3, 

S; VIII. s, 17; IX. 19. 
Art, love of: IV. 4; V. 2, 4; VIII. 

4; IX. 19, 26; X. 10; XI. s. 
Artfulness: II. 17, 19; IV. 14; VI. 

16; IX. 6. 
Attention; I. 12; II. 11, 19, 22; 

IV. 13; VII. 2, 18; IX. I. 

Beauty of character: II. 24; III. 8; 

IV. I, 4; V. s; VI. 5, 6, II, 12, 

15, 18-20, 22; VII. 3-19; VIII. 4, 
9; IX. s. IS. 16, 24, 27; X. 3-14; 

XI. 1-20. 

Beasting: II. 12-14; VIII. 4, 7; IX. 
19. 

Brotherhness: II. 24; IV. 2, 5; VI. 
5, 7, 12; VII. 3, II, 13; VIII. 9, 
17; IX. 5; X. 12; XI. 18. 

Carefulness: I. 11; III. 10, 15; VI. 

20; VIII. 13. 
Carelessness: I. 8; III. i; IV. 2, 6; 

V. s; VI. 3, 5; VII. 9, II, 16;. 



VIII. 5, 7, 9, 19; X. 2, 3, 8, 14; 

XI. 3, 5, 6, 16, 19. 
Chivalry: II. 24; III. 8; VIII. 8, 

17- 
Cleanliness: IV. si V. 4; VII. 3. 
Complaining: II. 18; IV. 9, 11; 

V. 2. 

Conceit: II. 14; VIII. 7. 
Constancy: II. 12; III. 6; VI. 12, 

14; VII. 3, 17; VIII. 2; IX. 24. 
Contentment: IV. i, 11; V. 3; VIII. 

4. 9. 
Courage: I. 10; III. 8-10; VI. 6, 13, 

20, 21, 23; VIII. II. 14, 18; IX. 

1. 5. 7, 13-25; X. I, 4. 
Courtesy: II. 18; V. s; VI. 5, 6, 

12, 20; VII. is; VIII. 8, 9, 16, 
17; IX. s, 18, 19; X. 14. 

Cruelty to animals: II. 5; IV. 10, 
12; VII. 10. 

Cruelty to others: II. 3, 10, 18; 
III. 2; IV. I, 2, 5, 8; VI. 3, 16, 
17, 22, 23; VII. 10, II, 14. 

Curiosity: IV. 2, 13; VI. 2; IX. i. 

Day-dreaming: I. 12; III. 10; IV. 

2, 4-6, 8; VI. 8; VII. 3-s; IX. i. 
Deceit: III. i; IV. 7; VI. 7. 
Decision: VI. 12, 20, 23; VII. 6; 

VIII. 6; IX. I, 3, 14. 
Determination: III. 8, 9; VIII. 11; 

IX. IS, 20. 

Discontent: I. i; IV. i, 9; V. 2; 

VI. 2. 

Dishonor: IV. 2; VIII. 7; IX. 6, 19. 
Disobedience: I. 6, 7; III. 3, s; 
VI. 2-4. 

Earnestness: III. 8, 9; IV. 4; IX. 
1, 14. 

Education, desire for: I. 12; II. is; 
VI. 20; VII. 3. 4; VIII. IS, 16; 
IX. 12, 27; X. 11; XI. 4, 7. 8, 
10, 12, 14, IS. 20. 

Energy: see Aim, Ambition, Achieve- 
ment, Determination. 

Exaggeration, folly of: II. 13; IV. 
9, 10. 

Fairness: IV. 1; VI. 5; VIII. 17; 

IX. 6. See also Justice. 
Faith: see Loyalty to faith. 

291 



292 



ETHICAL INDEX OF SIOKIES 



Fear, good and bad: I. 2, 5-7, 9; 

11, II, 20; III. 8. 9; IV. i; VI. 

FideUty: II. 24; VI. 21; VIII. 11. 
See also Loyalty, Constancy. 

Forethought: II. 11, 16; III. 4, 10; 
IV. 10; VIII. 8, 13; IX. 10, 20. 
See Thoughtfulness, Watchfulness. 

Forgetfulness: see Neglect, Thought- 
lessness. 

Forgiveness: II. 24; IV. 6; VI. 5, 

8; vn. 14, 19; vin. s, 17; IX. s. 

Friendship: III. 6, lo; VI. s, 12, 

14, 15; VII. 19; VIII. 2; XL 20. 

Fun, good and bad: I. 3; II. 5, 10- 

12, 14, 17; III. 5. 7; IV. S, II, 
14; VIL 3, 9; VIIL II, 15-17; 
IX. 6, 9, 10. 

Generosity: II. 24; IV. 6; V. 5; 

VI. 5. 12; VII. 11; VIII. 8. 
Gentleness: II. 9; HI- 8. 9; IV. 4; 

VL 12; VIL II, 12; VIIL 5, 12, 

13, 16. 

Giving: see Altruism, Kindness, 

Generosity, Self-sacrifice. 
Golden Rule, regard for: II. 5, 6; 

IV. 2, 6; V. s; VL 5; VIL 11. 
Good humor: see Agreeableness. 
Good manners: IV. i, 12; VI. 5, 6, 

20; VIL 3, 13; VIIL 5, 8, 16, 17. 
Gratitude: I. 10, 12; II. 6; III. 8; 

VI. 15, 19; VIL 2, 8, 10; VIII. 2, 

3; IX. 8. 
Greediness: II. i, 2; III. 7; IV. 2; 

VL 5; VIIL 10; IX. 6. See 

Selfishness. 

Habits, power of good and bad: I. 
6, 7, 9, 12; II. 10, 17, 18; VI. 20, 
22; VIL 3; VIIL 17; IX. 16; 
XL I. 

Happiness: III. 7; IV. i, 2, 11; 

V. 2; VL i; VIIL 4. 

Hatred, bad results of: IV. 2, 9; 

VI. 3, 22, 23; VIII. 7, 17. 
Healthfulness, how gained: IV. 5; 

VL 20; VIL 3; IX. 8. 
Helpfulness: 11. 21; III. 2, 4, 8-10; 

IV. 2, 3, 9, 10; VI. 12, 14, 18; 

VIL 9, 12; VIIL 15, 17; IX. s; 

XL 1-20. See also Altruism. 
Home, love for: III. 7; V. 5; VI. 2, 

6; VII. 3, 8, 10; VIII. 4, 14, 17; 

IX. 19; X. 13; XL 4, 16, 19. 
Honesty: II. '24; IX. 6. See Loy- 
alty to honor. Truthfulness. 
Honor: see Loyalty to honor. 
Hopefulness: VII. 15; IX. i. See 

also Patience. 
Humility: see Modesty. 
Humor: see Fun. 

Idleness: II. 16; IV. 2, 16. 
Imagination, cultivation of: I. 10- 

12; IL 8, II, 15; HI. 7; IV. 1- 

14; V. i-s; VI. 16, 19, 20; VII. 

3, 4; VIIL 4, 16; IX. i; X. 13; 

XI. 1-20. 



Impatience: I. i, 3, 5; H- 2, 4; 

IV. 2. See Rashness, Self-will. 
Industry: IL 12, 16; IV. 8; VI. 8, 

20. 
Influence, good and bad: I. 16, 17, 
22, 23; III. 10; IV. 4. 5; VL 11; 
VIL 13, 17, 18; VIIL 2; IX. 8, 
9, II. 

Jealousy: L 8; VI. 5, 14; VIII. 4; 

XL 2. 
Joyfulness: IV. i; IX. 17. 
Justice: II. zo; IV. i; VI. 16, 23; 

VIIL 10, 12, 17; IX. 6. See 

Fairness. 

Kindness: III. 3, 4, 8-10; IV. 2, 3; 
VI. 23. To animals: V. 3, 4; 
VIIL 3, 10, 13; IX. 9; X. 7; 
XL I. To little children: IV. 6; 

V. I, 5; VL II, 16, 17; VII. 2, 
S, 7, 8, 16, 17; XL 16. To par- 
ents: VL 8, 12; VIL 3; XL 4. 
To sick and old: I. 3, 4; IV. 6; 
VL 15, 18, 19; VIL II, 16; VIII. 
9; IX. 24; X. 8, 10, 14; XL 17, 
19. 

Knowledge: II. 13, 15; VII. 18; 
VIIL 15; IX. 6, 26. See Wis- 
dom. 

Laziness: see Idleness. 

Leadership, qualities of: III. 8, 9; 

VI. 5, 13, 20; VII. 12, 13, 18; 

VIII. 4-6; 15-17; IX. I, 14, 19, 
20. 

Liberty, how gained: III. 8, 9; VI. 

23; IX. 13-20. 
Literature, love of: VI. lo, 20; VII. 

3; IX. 12, 27; XL I, 4, 7, 8, 10, 

Lov'e:''liL 6; IV. 4; V. 5; VL 12; 

VII. 7; VIIL 2, 17; IX. 4, 5, 
11; X. 10. Of nature: III. 7; 

IV. 4, 9, 10; VI. i; VIII. 12. 
To children: I. i, 9; II. 24; III. 
8; VI. 9, n; VII. 4, 8; VIII. 4. 
17, 19. To friends: see Friend- 
ship. To parents: III. 10; VI. 8, 
12; VIL 3, 4; IX. 24; X. i; XL 
2, 4. II. IS- 

Loyalty: To comrades: VI. 5, 6, 8, 
12, 23; VII. 13; VIIL I, 6, 14; 

IX. 4, IS, 20; X. 3. To country: 
III. 8-10; VI. 13, 15. 17, 23; VII. 
6; VIII. I, 4, 5, 8, II, 14; IX. 12- 
27; X. 2; XL 7, 8. To duty: I. 
12; IIL 8, 9: IV. 8; V. i; VL 5; 
VIL 3-6; VIIL I, 14: IX. 15, 16; 

X. 5. To faith: III. 8; IV. 6; 

V. 3; VI. 5, 6, 9; VIL 18. To 
honor: IV. i, 8; VL 23; VIII. 
4, i6, 17; IX. 6, 19. To prom- 
ises: see Promises. To truth: II. 
10; IV. 7. 13; VIL 3; VIIL 2; 
IX. 6. Unto death: III. 4; IV. 
3; VIL 14; VIIL 14, 18; IX. II, 
IS, 24; X. 4, 10, 14; XL 7. 

Lying: see Deceit, Dishonor. 



ETHICAL INDEX OF STORIES 



293 



Modesty: II. 12, 13; III. 8; IV. i, 
4; VI. 5, 12; VII. 13; VIII. 4. 

5, 16; X. 8. 

Music, love of: III. 9; IV. 7; VII. 
1; IX. 27; XI. 2, 3, 6. 

Nature, beauty of: III. T, IV. 9, 10; 

VIII. 12. 
Neatness: I. 2; V. 4; VII. 13. See 

Cleanliness. 
Neglect: III. 3; VII. 13; VIII. 10. 

Obedience: III. 8; IV. 9; VI. 10, 
n, 18, 19; VII. 3, 4. 6; VIII. 11; 
X. I. 

Observation: see Forethought. 

Opportunity: III. 8-10; VII. 13; 
VIII. 8. 

Orderliness: IV. 13; VII. 9, 12, 13; 

VIII. 13. 

Patience: I. 8; II. 4, 12; IV. i; 

VII. 14; VIII. 6, 12, 17; XI. 7, 

9, 10. II' 
Patriotism: see Loyalty to country. 
Peace and good will: IV. 6; V. s; 

VL 5. la; VIL 1-3,; VIIL 17; 

IX. 8. 

Perseverance: II. 12; VII. 10; VIIL 

6, 11; XL 20. 

Play, love of: 11. 5, 10, 14, 17; VI. 

15; VII. 3, 4; IX. 9. 22; X. u, 

13; XL 4, 9, 10, 13, 14, 20. 
Pluck: see Courage. 
Politeness: see Good manners. 
Prayerfulness: VI. 6, 7, 9, 13, 22; 

VIL 5, 13, 17; XL 15. 
Pretense: 11. 7, 17; IV. 7; VI. 16; 

VIIL 4; IX. 6. 
Promises, keeping: I. s; IV. 7; VL 

15; IX. 6, II, 19- 
Promptness: I. 9; VI. 11, 12, 16; 

VII. 2, 3, 6, 10, 12; VIIL 8, II, 

19; IX. 14, 20; XL 12. 
Prudence: see Forethought. 
Punctuality: VI. 11; VIIL 19; XL 

Quarrelsomeness: II. 15, 20; IV. 
12; VL 5, 16; VII. 13; VIIL 17. 

Quick-wittedness : IV. 12, 14; VI. s, 
12, 16, 20, 23; VII. 10, 13; VIIL 
4, 8, 11; IX. s, 22, 26; X. 1-13. 

Rashness: III. s: VIIL 7. See 

Impatience, Self-will. 
Readiness: I. 12; II. 13; VI. 9, 13; 

VIL 13; VIIL 4. 8, 11; IX. 14, 

20, 22. 
Reading, love of: VII. 3; IX. 2T, 

XL I, 4, 7, 8, 10, II, 14. 15, 20. 
Resourcefulness: III. 10; IV. 8, 13, 

14; VI. 9, 16, 2Z\ VIIL 4, 8, 12; 

IX. 5, 6, 14, 19, 20, 22. 
Repentance: IV. 9; VI. 7, 19; VIIL 

7. 
Reverence: VI. 4, 10, 11, 13, 21, 22; 

VIL 1-3. 6, 10, 14; VIIL 5. 16; 

IX. 7, 8. 



Rewards of service: III. 8; IV. i, 

2, 4, 8; VI. 5, 6, 9. 12, 13, 23; 

VII. 6; VIIL 6, 8; IX. i, 2; X. 

6-14; XL 1-20. 
Ridicule: II. 17; IV. 12; VII. 10; 

IX. 6. 
Rudeness: IV. I; VIIL 5, 15, 17. 

Self-control: IV. i; VL 5, 21; VII. 

6, 13; VIIL S. 17- 
Self-deception: I. i; II. 1, 2, 7, 10, 

12; III. I, 5, 7; IV. II, 14; VI. 

2, s; VIIL 7, 10, 19; IX. 6, 19. 
Self-education, duty of: I. 12; VL 

8, 20; VIIL 17; IX. 12; X. 11; 
XL 4, 7. 8, 20. 

Self-injury, by wrong-doing: I. 2, 4, 

6, 7; II. I, 10, 13, 14, 17; III. I, 

S; IV. 2, 12; VI. 2-5, 7, 22, 23; 

VIIL 7, 10. 
Selfishness: II. i, 3; VI. 5; VIIL 7. 
Self-preservation: I. 1, 2, 11; II. 6, 

II, 14, 18; VL 18, 20; VII. 18; 

VIIL 12; IX. 19-23. 
Self-reliance: II. 23; IV. 8, 9; V^I. 

22; IX. 20. 
Self-respect: IV. i; VI. s, 21, 22; 

VIL 6, 13; VIIL 4, 17; IX. 19. 
Self-sacrifice: III. 1, 10; IV. 3; VI. 

23; VIL 13, 14; IX. I, S-15; X. 

1-6, 10-12, 14; XL 7, 13, IS, 17, 

19. See Altruism. 

Self-will: III. s; IV. 7; VL 3, s; 

VIIL 7, 19. 
Skilfulness: II. 8; IV. 13, 14; VI. 

13; VIIL 4, 8, II, 12, is; IX. 

22, 26; X. 14. 
Speech, good and bad: I. 4; VIIL 

4, S, 7, 13. 17; IX. 20. 

Sport: Cruel: II. 5, 10, 11, 17; III. 

5, 7; VIIL 7. Good: L 10; IIL 
10; VL 13, 14; VIL 3, 9; IX. 6, 

9, 10; X. 9, 13; XL 9-11, 18. 
Steadiness: IL 12; VIIL 6; IX. i. 
Stories, love of: IV. 14; VIL 3, 

7; XL I, 4, 14. 
Strength of character: II. 9; III. 8, 
9; IV. i; V. i; VL 20, 21; VIL 

6, 12-14; VIIL 4, s, 17; IX. 14- 
20. 

Sympathy: II. 24; IIL 3, 4, 8, 9, 
10; IV. 2, 3, 6; V. 5; VI. 18, 19; 
VIL 8, II. 16; VIIL 9, 17; X. 

10, 14; XL 6, 13, 17, 19. 

Team-work: II. 15; III. 10; VI. 5, 

20, 21; VIL 9; VIIL I. 20; X. 
20; XL II, 18. 

Temperance: IV. 2; VI. 20; VIIL 

8, 9, 17; XL 4, 14. 
Temptation, resisting: II. 11, 24; 

VL 20-22; VII. 6; VIIL 9, 17; 

IX. IS, 16, 24; XL 13. 
Tenderness: IIL 8; VL 15; VII. 

II ; VIIL 12, 13, 17. See Gen- 
tleness. 
Thoroughness: I. 12; II. 12-14; HI- 

8, 9: IV. 13, 14; VL is; VIL 3. 

17; VIIL 6; IX. i; X. 9; XL 18. 



294 



ETHICAL INDEX OF STORIES 



Thoughtfulness: III. lo; IV. 3, 6, 

13; VI. 9; VII. 4, II, 13, 14; 

VIII. 8, 12, 13, 17, 20; X. 12. 
Thoughtlessness: III. 7; IV. i; 

VIII. 7. 
Thrift: I. 3, 9, 12; II. 16; IV. 2, 

8; VI. 8, 18, 20; VII. 9, 11; IX. 

10; XI. 7, 8, 10. 
Tidiness: see Neatness. 
Truthfulness: II. 10; IV. 7, 13; 

VII. 3; VIII. 2; IX. 6. 

Unselfishness: see Altruism. 
Usefulness: see Helpfulness. 
Use of time: I. 12; II. 4, 12, 16, 
22; III. 3, 6, 10; VII. 5, II, 16; 



VIII. 6, 19; IX. 8; X. 79; XI. 7, 
8, 10, 12. 

Vocational stories: I. 12; III. 8, 9; 
IV. 3-13; V. i; VI. 13, 23; VII. 
3, 5. 7. 13, is; IX. I, 14, IS, 19, 
20, 26; X. 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, ID, 14; 
XL 1-20. 

Watchfulness: see Attention, Care- 
fulness, Thoughtfulness. 

Wisdom: 11. 8; III. 8-10; IV. 13; 
VI. 9, 16; VII. 3; VIII. 4, 17; 

IX. I, 6. See Knowledge, Re- 
sourcefulness. 

Working together: see Team-work. 



